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6 hours ago
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Kate Cheka wasn’t supposed to be here. After her debut hour two years ago, she swore she would never do the fringe again. But now she’s back, mic in hand and eight months pregnant, walking us through her life’s greatest romantic escapades, from Marseille to Texas and Nepal to Berlin. She does it all with mountains of energy – if you thought the fringe was exhausting at the best of times, just imagine doing all this with a baby on board.
But, as she will tell us later, maybe there’s a reason she wants to give everything she has to her last pre-birth show. In an hour that’s more storytelling than laugh-out-loud standup, she weaves in political eye-rolls, thoughts on the rise of the far right and her tendency to date white men with access to property.
The world is pretty darn depressing. Still, she remains a “good time girl”, which has led to some drunken sexual encounters. “Most comedians write jokes,” she says, “I live life like a joke.” Her pregnancy story is held back until just the right moment.
She does all this in the style of a pub catchup. But despite her giggling, girlish demeanour, Cheka has big, often unheard things to say about the state of comedy. Her career is not going well, she tells us. Even though she’s started booking slots on radio, she’s finding that her lefty political feelings are not being met with applause. Things are made harder by the fact she’s a Black, working-class comedian. She presents a bleak, uncomfortable picture.
Cheka’s disappointment is laid bare. She has worked hard and won awards, and yet TV execs still lure her into Zoom calls, only to build up her dreams and cruelly crush them. Cheka deserves her comedy flowers. But the final 15 minutes of this show are anything but funny. The tears rolling down her cheeks should get the industry looking inward. Let’s hope there are more opportunities to hear Cheka, in all her glory.
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At PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, until 30 August
