Review

REVIEW: Eleanor Morton: Great Title, Glamorous Photo – 3*

REVIEW: Eleanor Morton: Great Title, Glamorous Photo – 3*

Radio Ha-Ha! talks Ha-Ha!

Written by Sarah Exton

It’s common knowledge that the comedy world is incredibly male dominated, and trying to break into this industry as a woman, is a difficult task. Women are either labelled as being ‘whiney’, ‘too crass’ or just ‘unfunny’ due to their gender. Therefore, any women trying to call out these issues should be praised; and Eleanor’s attempt at calling out these gender bias’ within her show is admirable. However, as these are still considered  to be sensitive topics, the way in which someone tackles this within their show is crucial. Most importantly, the entertainment element of the show shouldn’t be lost. Unless you’re an experienced professional, like Hannah Gadsby for example, it’s hard enough to get people in to listen to your jokes; let alone try and express what’s wrong within the industry.

If you don’t find the right balance, the performance can fall flat. Unfortunately, this is the case with Eleanor Morton’s ‘Great Title, Glamorous Photo’. Opening with the unexpected blast of Beyoncé’s ‘Run The World (Girls)’, Eleanor rocks onto the stage pumped and filled with energy. The atmosphere is set and raring to go, however the tone is disrupted by an awkward American accent, flat jokes, and canned laughter that only dampens things.

The show revolves around Eleanor’s American “Confident” persona that conforms to the unfair expectations held over female comedians. Later on, the real British Eleanor steps through, and it’s this side that eloquently and cleverly comments on the issues within the comedy industry. It’s this part of the performance that was the most enjoyable. However, bouncing between these two identities really jarred the flow and made the whole show confusing.

It’s the ‘real’ Eleanor that is deserving of the 3*, because in being herself, she best projected her real talent. Through her organic voice, her jokes on the industry came through elegantly and intellectually. Even her portrayal of the sad male comic created a good ol’ chuckle within the crowd.

Eleanor clearly has the talent and potential to grow as a comedian, and it would be interesting to see how her career develops from here. However, I hope she drops the alternative persona as it only hinders her show.

Catch Eleanor at The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, every day at 12:05pm (except the 20th). Grab your tickets here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/eleanor-morton-great-title-glamorous-photo

Radio Ha-Ha

August 15th, 2018

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