Elf Lyon’s is not, as their name suggests, a very specific sort of Dungeons and Dragons monster. Instead, they are a critically acclaimed and award-winning clown, comedian and performer. One of an elite few who consistently produce hilarious and brilliant physical comedy. Their latest show, Woman on the Edge, combines emotional vulnerability and introspection with vibes drawn from the 1945 romantic tragedy Brief Encounter and 1995’s docudrama Apollo 13. It’s an odd mix, but rather brilliant.
Elf’s shows tend to hang onto a solid emotional note; Raven was about being scared. Horses was about joy and playfulness. Woman on the Edge is about adapting and picking up the pieces after it all falls apart. Like all of her shows, it’s heavily anecdotal in places and in this case we learn about the artist’s broken engagement and a subsequent perilous return to dating. With a side-serving of how rubbish middle-aged men can be.
This vulnerability is sewn into the many, many gags. Elf’s dress, for example, is consistently and hilariously faulty. We get an increasingly self-effacing retelling of the sad clown paradox, which becomes more and more revealing as it continues. (This is also known as the Pagliacci Joke, which our readers may have first discovered via Alan Moore’s The Watchmen or Paul Daniels’ Wizbit.)
It’s dense with humour and contains some beautiful and heartbreaking moments, some of which may resonate strongly with those who have lived long and rich lives. This show is deeply personal and very, very funny. Layers upon layers of meaning and emotion, all in the pursuit of making the crowd laugh so hard they forget the world around them and live in the moment, if just for a short while.
As STARBURST readers know, Apollo 13 also highlighted NASA’s dedication to safety. Indeed, NASA’s highest honour is the Silver Snoopy, a small silver badge awarded to folk critical in getting astronauts home safely. Over at STARBURST Towers we can’t issue a silver cartoon dog, but we can give Elf’s new show five stars.
