Settling down in the tiny, slightly cramped Hollywood Room at the City Cafe I was kindly given the end of a bench as one of the last people to sit down ready to hear the tails of woe induced by (or perhaps not) Jesus on the lives of two comedians.
This show’s formula is something to be applauded, it flows well and has nice breaks in pacing, allowing the audience to catch up. Sets performed by Sharon Von Simson and Mari Volar are broken up with a hilarious confessional, then closing with a hymn (that may or may not have been changed to fit the theme of the show) keeps the audience on side the whole time and itching to hear more and see what comes next.
Volar has a great stage presence and easily captivates an audience. Talking briefly about her upbringing in Eastern Europe just after the fall of communism and how religion was no longer prevalent in that society leads nicely into her observations on certain stories from the Bible that everyone knows and has heard of. Her desire to point out the plot holes or flaws in the stories and how they “make no sense” is cleverly crafted and done tastefully. She incorporates the audience nicely into this and intersperses some more explicit moments that feel at home here. Her overall point that God isn’t a bad guy, just maybe misdiagnosed or misunderstood is very funny and resonates with a modern audience.
We move on to an interlude section of a very serious confessional. A lovely gentleman was picked for this section (mainly because of the enthusiastic encouragement of his friends to shove him up on stage) and his mild discomfort and unease was obvious from the get go, making for some hilarious moments that Mari picked up on and embellished to great effect. The minimal budget spent on a “anonymity barrier” for the confession as well as some make shift Roman Collars added to the hilarity and make it all seem very professional.
Sharon is up next with a slightly longer set and her comfort talking in front of an audience is clear. Her set delves into her childhood as a mixed-race child with a white father going door-to-door campaigning for Labour to divorcing her husband years later due to some later-in-life revelations. She throws in some risky jokes that the audience weren’t entirely ready for at 11:30am but overall a strong performance. Nerves seemed present but dissipated as the set went on.
The choice to end on a hymn is very clever, somehow genuinely making it feel a bit like the end of a church service. This give-what-you-can comedy show is worth catching if you have any views at all on religion and the effects it can have later on in life.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/50-ways-jesus-almost-ruined-my-life
Theatre Scotland 
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