Myra DuBois calls out to the disadvantaged, downtrodden and tyrannised of the world with her manifesto for mental health: AdMyrism! But are you ready to receive the call?
Fresh from a barnstorming run at the Edinburgh Fringe where she left audiences in physical pain from laughter with her ‘take no prisoners’ brand of rapid-fire comedy; the “acid-tongued, funny to the bone” Time Out, Myra DuBois lays her healing hands on the masses in this; her wellness sermon.
Chances are if you are coming to see Myra Dubois you know what you are getting into! The sassy, witty and at times shocking star is known for picking on audiences and making them the star of the show with her acid tongue and quick quips. In her latest show, Myra DuBois Be Well, this reputation only grows as she brings her audience on stage with her to diagnose their flaws and tell them straight up just how to fix themselves with her own brand of self-help.
Myra isn’t the first person we are introduced to in this show however, the warm-up act is Frank Lavender, the ‘last straight man in comedy’ who along with his wife gets the audience ready for the show with other laugh-a-minute gags (and trust me they are counting). This stereotype of a Northern Club ‘turn’ comic is the kind of loving-yet-critical portal that can only be performed well by the people who grew up watching such acts. As a Barnsley girl myself, trust me when I say this feels beautifully familiar!
Onto the main event that is Myra Doboir! She takes to the stage and gives us an hour of her best ‘self-help’ guide as she improvises with the audience with her characteristic ease and acid-tinged sarcasm. With a mixture of songs and comedy the show rockets forward with a style of comedy that is always on the knife edge of going too far but always manages to stay aware and on the right side of the audience. Her main advice to her audience is to ‘get over it’ and it comes to its dramatic end with a crescendo of laughs! It’s a show which will be different every night but you can guarantee plenty of laughs and that no one in the audience is safe!
All the characters here are rich and play along with the stereotypes and tropes without ever falling into them and that’s what makes them fully fleshed-out, deep, comic characters that make the shows worth seeing.
Myra DuBois Be Well is on at The Peacock Theatre until the 16th of September.
