'Naturally charismatic storyteller' (Fest) weaves a shocking but very funny account of her youth. Netflix documentary-worthy with a jaw-dropping twist. Comedy storytelling at it's absolute best. Warning: May contain The Slosh. Award-winning and critically acclaimed writer and performer, McBrier brings a personal stand-up storytelling show about badness and kindness. We were 'that' family. Sometimes the apple not only falls far from the tree, but can take root somewhere else. 'Funny like Chic Murray was funny' ***** (Scotsman). 'A hoot from start to finish' ***** (ScotsGay.co.uk).

August 16, 2022    The Scotsman

Full disclosure: I have been a fan of Martha McBrier forever. But with all critical faculties blazing I can tell you this is a wonderful, hilarious, awful, personal show. Maybe even her best yet. Absolutely no-one in Edinburgh tells a tale like McBrier. Her DNA is funny. Everything she says on stage sounds funny. And yet I still happy-cry at the end. This kind of laughter is alchemic, to the extent that, although I am the only one in her audience within two decades of remembering the 1970s – in which pretty much the entire show is set – she has the entire room in the palm of her hand. We start with the Slosh and its variations. Dietary intolerances and triggers sit alongside head lice and skelping, Uptown Top Ranking becomes the soundtrack to much of Martha’s story and it is only as I write this that I can understand the complexity, the storytelling genius and the emotional risk factor in this hour, because at the time I was much too busy laughing. A show involving ’Piskies, God-botherers, alcoholic fathers and murdering mothers, where schoolchildren “buy” black babies and your comic is psychic, ends with us all singing along to Happy Heart with Andy Williams. Go. You can thank me later. Click Here For Review

August 16, 2022    Scotsman

Scotsman Comedy Round up

Full disclosure: I have been a fan of Martha McBrier forever. But with all critical faculties blazing I can tell you this is a wonderful, hilarious, awful, personal show. Maybe even her best yet. Absolutely no-one in Edinburgh tells a tale like McBrier. Her DNA is funny. Everything she says on stage sounds funny. And yet I still happy-cry at the end. This kind of laughter is alchemic, to the extent that, although I am the only one in her audience within two decades of remembering the 1970s – in which pretty much the entire show is set – she has the entire room in the palm of her hand. We start with the Slosh and its variations. Dietary intolerances and triggers sit alongside head lice and skelping, Uptown Top Ranking becomes the soundtrack to much of Martha’s story and it is only as I write this that I can understand the complexity, the storytelling genius and the emotional risk factor in this hour, because at the time I was much too busy laughing. A show involving ’Piskies, God-botherers, alcoholic fathers and murdering mothers, where schoolchildren “buy” black babies and your comic is psychic, ends with us all singing along to Happy Heart with Andy Williams. Go. You can thank me later.

 Click Here For Review