Piggie is Bella Hull’s second full-hour comedy show and it’s all about her favourite topic, food. The show has some potential, there are definitely enjoyable moments, but ultimately it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Some of Bella’s initial food-based jokes are cute—I liked the ones about apple crumble and fruit cake. However, others fall flat. Eating an entire advent calendar? Why is that funny? It’s neither absurd nor notable. An advent calendar is less than 100g of chocolate—no one tells jokes about the time they ate two bars of chocolate in a row.
Bella seems to aim for a show with a coherent storyline, with continuous threads that culminate in a conclusion. In some respects, she succeeds. The segments about her neighbour and the guy who renovates her kitchen come full circle. The last 10 minutes, where she becomes passionate and immersed in her story arc, are by far the strongest part of the show.
Unfortunately, this consistency is lacking overall. Another recurring theme involves iPads, but the associated story is more sad than funny.
In other parts of the show Bella abandons this pretence of storytelling and focuses on being judgey and making mean comments about other people, it’s rather infantile in my opinion, and it makes things pretty uncomfortable. One example: a rant about Huel, and the people who consume it. It wasn’t even a very successful series of mean comments because it’s pretty niche when you’re not in London anymore.
My biggest issue with the show is Bella’s recurring use of the term “chilf” (yes, it means what you think it does) when discussing her experience being an early developer. I found this part of the performance uncomfortable due to its provocative nature. If Bella wants to include this kind of material, that’s absolutely fine – comedians must be able to joke freely. However, at a minimum, I’d expect to see a content notice about adultification. Omitting any kind of warning is not great.
*You’ll notice that this year a lot of venues have content warnings on the doors.
Show Details
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Three
Dates: Jul 31 Aug 1-13, 15-26
Showtimes: 21:45
Running Time: 1 hour
Age Recommendation: 14+
Price: From £7 (concessions available)
Accessibility
The performance space, ‘Bunker Three’, is wheelchair accessible.
The venue, ‘Pleasance Courtyard’, has provided the following accessibility information: ‘A full accessibility guide can be found at http://www.pleasance.co.uk. Customers with access requirements are encouraged to contact the venue in advance and to make themselves known to a member of the team upon arrival. Full venue site is accessible, Wheelchair accessible toilet, No reserved accessible parking, No on street blue badge parking, Assistance dogs welcome in all areas. The Pleasance Courtyard is located uphill when accessing the venue from Cowgate. The outdoor spaces of the venue are a mix of cobblestones and tarmacked surfaces’.
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