Tamsyn Kelly: Hot Titty Bungalow ★★★★

Ordinarily, a comedy show opening with a rousing karaoke rendition of Bryan Adams and Melanie C’s When You’re Gone, (a subtle nod to the overall theme) and also involving audience participation from the outset, would most likely raise a red flag amongst reviewers. Not so with Tamsyn Kelly’s Hot Titty Bungalow – so named in an effort to be one of the most obscurely rudely titled performances on this year’s Fringe. Instead, the audience is treated to a warm, frequently salty, and sometimes poignant comedic take on change, fuelled by Kelly’s relocation from Penzance to Glasgow to live with her boyfriend.

This is a show that pulls together a series of inter-linked comedic vignettes to paint a picture of the challenges of leaving friends and family in Cornwall to travel several hundred miles north to move in with a chap Kelly had previously only met online. She paints a vivid picture of her past life in Penzance and the eccentricities of the people living there, such as proclaiming – then evidencing – that her female friends there are “witches”, and recounting a, somewhat, saucy story with a killer punchline about a schoolmate’s encounter with a ghost. She also interweaves her experiences of being brought up singlehandedly by a disabled mother – a comedic strand that could land badly if not handled with the skill and sensitivity Kelly displays.

Much of the act, however, focusses on the benefits and challenges on embarking on a new relationship in a culturally unfamiliar location a considerable distance from home. There are a number of warm-hearted swipes taken at her adopted city of Glasgow. Moving there in January she proclaims “I imagined walking off into the sunset hand in hand with my boyfriend. What I didn’t imagine was that being at 2.36pm!”. Kelly also touches on the theme of the loneliness and insecurity that accompany the upheaval of relocating to a totally new location, to great comedic effect. This includes highly humorous sections on trying to find new friends online, and when she begins to doubt whether the relocation is putting too much strain on her and her boyfriend, seeking relationship advice from a psychic.

Hot Titty Bungalow totally succeeds in delivering an hour of excellent comedy, with great use of personal experience and interlinking and back-referencing arcs to drive the show forward. Also, the success of the routine is, in no small part, down to the fact that for a relatively young performer, Kelly has the stage presence, timing, and audience rapport of a comic who has spent a long time on the circuit. For lovers of stand up, not only is Hot Titty Bungalow a show to go see, but Tamsyn Kelly is definitely a comic to look out for in the future.