EdFringe Review: Lara Ricote: Little Tiny Wet Show (Baptism)

---

Lara Ricote occupies a somewhat liminal space as a comedian. Despite her continual assurances, one wonders where the comedic creation ends and her off-stage reality begins. Perhaps she does wander the world, an energised ball of outre observations and gibberish song lyrics wrapped in an anime-worthy voice. If so, then presumably the world is laughing along with her continually.

For this Mexican-American-Venezuelan stand-up is a very funny woman with the rare ability to make an audience chuckle with a look. These talents are directed squarely at the subject of relationships in her new show, ‘Little Tiny Wet Show (Baptism)’. More specifically, Ricote’s personal relationships with her boyfriend and with the audience.

Not the first comic to point towards the social contract between comedian and audience, Ricote takes things further by giving us a name. Over an hour she builds, analyses and eulogises her time with the room. If she weren’t so earnest or brutally endearing it’s a device which wouldn’t work.

She builds that trust by laying out – at least some part – of her love life for public consumption. Her Argentinian boyfriend moved to the Netherlands (where she lives) years ago after a whirlwind romance in South America. The only problem is how much time she spends everywhere else gigging.

Therapy looms large over the set, of the individual and couples sorts, setting up one of the show’s biggest laughs when Lara’s therapist ‘reveals’ the root cause of Lara’s problems. More broadly, maybe Ricote truly is workshopping her attitude to relationships with every audience, or maybe it’s all shtick. It’s fascinating either way.

However, don’t be deceived by all this talk of feelings and philosophy – it’s Lara Ricote’s fine comedic instincts which bring the show to life. She’s continually aware of the audience, reading and responding in the smallest ways, crafting the show around them and their comedy needs. She wins over the stoniest of +1’s in the audience by talking to them directly and acknowledging their emotional pain.

Maybe, you might think, Lara Ricote is secretly really good at relationships. Is she gaslighting us?! Gaslight away Lara, gaslight away you puckish vision in white.

That said, there’s something incomplete when it comes to her tick-based discourse and a somewhat bamboozling stage invasion by a most unlikely protestor. Thematically they tie to Lara’s curious views of relationships and tendency towards avoidance, but they bemuse a little more than they amuse.

However, these are small notes in the grand scheme of ‘Little Tiny Wet Show (Baptism)’. Endearing and original, eccentric and hilarious, Lara Ricote is a rare stage talent. This is the sort of comedy which stays with an audience long after the clapping ends.

---

---