We don’t know many a man of the homosexual persuasion who doesn’t instantly click with the fabulous Pam Ann (Caroline Reid on her real passport).
Deliciously bitchy, razor sharp and a mix of slutty glam that many a gayer aspires to/adores, Pam touched down (first class, of course) into London for a string of new dates, which had sold out and had to be extended before she’d even made it through immigration!
It’s a testament to Pam how well she knows her audience, as some bitchy queen in the seat next to us said before the start of the show “I hope she’s got some new material” – a sentence she repeated almost verbatim as the first line of her new show! Thankfully, the world of international travel still has enough juice in its engine to keep Pam afloat for seemingly many years to come.
With topical references to the recent Virgin Atlantic evacuation, the Quantas Airbus engine failure mid-flight and plenty of other frankly bizarre air-related tales that Ms. Reid must have spent months researching. It turns out, truth really is stranger than fiction – and when Pam Ann gets her perfectly manicured talons on a juicy yarn, the truth becomes hysterical.
Sure, the show featured the well-worn staples of the slutty Virgin crew, the awfulness of Ryanair, hating economy passangers and some ridiculously close-to-the-bone barbs that prey on the stereotypes of different countries (we could do without so many East Asian ‘ah so sowee’ jokes for one) but no matter how many times we’ve seen her describe British Airways crew as ‘horsey bitches’ we still absolutely laugh our hoofs off!
But there were new twists even to this, as Pam shows her disdain for the ‘new BA fleet’ and their training to act more like current media obsession Kate Middleton – one of the definite highlights of the show.
There were even some major unscripted deviations, as Pam asked a man if he thought he was famous whilst sitting watching her wearing sunglasses. Turns out he was blind. After two seconds of awkwardness, Pam immediately lined-up some sharp barbs for him and worked it into the rest of the act, even giving him a lapdance.
It’s a testament to Ms. Reid that she didn’t gloss over this and treated him just like every other ‘passenger’ on board – fair game for some ribbing. Audience interaction is where Pam has always excelled, that and her hilarious video clips – the opening spoof of glossy new US TV show Pan Am is worth the ticket price alone.
Whilst You F’Coffe didn’t quite have the eye-popping spectacle or frenetic energy levels of her previous show at the Hammersmith Apollo, this was a different beast; a half way house between an intimate gig at Two Brewers and a huge arena tour. This was a show with plenty of belly laughs and enough new features to please even the most cynical frequent flyer.
• Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon Street, WC1H 0AH
• Running to Sunday 5th May
• Booking: 020 7388 8822 or www.thebloomsbury.com
