Unlike the conventional connotations of the phrase, Lads Lads Lads is the single woman’s Bible. Indeed, the show addresses Sara Pascoe’s attempts to navigate the world as a thirty-something single woman. Full of introspective gags and light-hearted monologues, Pascoe is endearingly unfiltered. It’s safe to say that the word oversharing is not in her dictionary – something which manifests itself as being quite liberating, actually!
Just like her book, Animal, Pascoe uses her comedy to talk about important issues, such as heterosexual norms, white privilege and the glass ceiling. From explaining how chivalry morphs the argument of feminism down to ‘we want equality, respect and lasagne’ to recalling how she was once referred to as being ‘too tampony’, the show is not just explicitly funny, but it is also culturally relevant. Despite her objections to the former statement, Pascoe uses her platform to immerse the audience into a socially and politically liberal form of comedy, preventing the show from becoming a Sociology or Politics lecture by infusing feminist messages and Brexit commentaries with penis and seagull impressions.
“Pascoe oozes funniness in a way that isn’t forced or put on”
With her introspective comedy and conversational style, watching the show is like watching back a series of conversations you’ve had at the pub with your mates. From the confidence boost that is sleeping with your personal trainer to the oddity that are stray pubes, Pascoe oozes funniness in a way that isn’t forced or put on. Her anecdotes, as extraordinary as they are, are somehow strikingly relatable for any female out there.
“It was evident that she too was enjoying the performance”
As Pascoe wandered around the stage, it was evident that she too was enjoying the performance. Noting how a recurring theme of incest throughout the show never went down well, but how she kept it in because the audiences’ faces were a site to see, as well as how she chose stand-up because she is an attention seeker, it is clear that her comedy is as much for the audience as it is for her pleasure.
“She reminds us of the quality content that characterises her performance”
The show comes to an appropriate ending through a discussion of high-tech vibrators and buying a couple’s toy when you are very much lonely and isolated. However, in her attempts to draw the show to some kind of rounded conclusion, Pascoe refers to the catalogue of gags that she has previously divulged. Although this is not as seamless a transition as the other jokes within the show, she reminds us of the quality content that characterises her performance. Albeit somewhat cluttered and long-winded, the summary she gives is truly representative of her attempts to become an independent, enlightened, fully-functioning adult.
“Pascoe’s humour is full of sarcasm, dryness and wit”
Just as evident in her appearances on panel shows, Pascoe’s humour is full of sarcasm, dryness and wit. She has an ability to captivate the audience with her analogies and tangents, delivering them with the perfect balance of awkwardness and confidence. As she makes clear throughout the show, she loves the process of sharing her inner thoughts as a means of making people laugh. It is this honesty that makes us love her: her experiences show her misfortunes and flaws and encourage us all to stop being so serious. Lads Lads Lads is revealing, relatable and socially relevant, like Eat Pray Love, but funnier and less alienating.
8/10
Lucy Robinson
Featured images courtesy of Sara Pascoe Official Facebook Page.
For more reviews follow Impact Magazine on Facebook and Twitter.
