Emotionally Unreasonable was the first stand-up comedy musical I have ever been to. I found that the songs were executed well, and the lyrics matched the jokes and tone of the show. I can imagine that in some cases this sort of comedy could come across as uncomfortable and cringe-worthy, however the music in Emotionally Unreasonable didn’t.
The performance was split up into three sections, two fifteen-minute blocks and then one that was half an hour; these were each separated with a song. These songs meant that each section was able to have a different focus, and each section could start a fresh with an easy, smooth transition. I have to add that sometimes I found it hard to follow as Maria would often move back and forth between stories and jokes within a section, which didn’t make for the most relaxing time.
I picked the performance based off the description that Maria was a wedding officiant with an interesting relationship with romance. However, this was not covered until the second half of the performance, and I didn’t feel like it was as prominent as the advertisement made it out to be. As this is what prompted me to go, I was slightly disappointed.
In the other sections of the performance, a range of topics were covered. These included the creation of sex robots and the different ways that society view both men and women. There were some jokes about her experience with both rape and domestic violence which I found uncomfortable, so this is definitely something to consider if going to watch the show.
In the venue, whilst there was no direct audience participation, the seating was very close to the stage and this would also be something to consider when sitting down. Emotionally Unreasonable is part of the free fringe and therefore you are able to pay what you can at the end of the performance.
Emotionally Unreasonable is on Laughing House at Home Bar at 9:45pm until 13 August and then resumes on the 21 till the 27. Tickets are available here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/emotionally-unreasonable
Image provided to The Student as press material.