★★★★★
There’s always a slight tension when I walk into a stand-up show. I always thought I didn’t like stand-up; I realise I don’t really like middle-class male stand-up!
It’s a feeling I share with Hannah Platt, whose debut hour is a perfect antidote to a lot of the dross that’s at Edinburgh. Yet the self-esteem of this self-described ‘ginger, gay scouser’, walks a constant tightrope. She refers to how mad it is someone like her is at the fringe, (read: being working-class in this playground of the privileged is like Jurassic Park for real people). This segues into the debilitating condition of Body Dysmorphic Disorder which Hannah explains through a series of anecdotes. Confronting scally-lads on the Manchester tram vividly painted an all too familiar scene, Platt manages to convey the sense of anxiety whilst never allowing the humour to dip.
It was Platt’s hyperfocused awareness of the class divide that is very real to this working-class reviewer that made me feel, ‘finally someone is addressing this properly’. Added to which Platt is a consummate stand-up. She knew she had reviewers in, and felt she needed to be ‘on top form’ with the material. But for me, it’s when things go wrong, that a performer shows their true ability. For Platt, a mistaken audience interaction, where she managed to say the worst thing you could say… she handled beautifully. She really did, she managed to be respectful, apologetic and genuine but also it created a crescendo of laughter that was unstoppable. This is Platt’s brilliance and her stand-up shows there is a very, very high bar for others.
Hannah Platt: Defence Mechanism is on at Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker 2 till August 25th
