Omg she’s so baby.
Returning to NZICF with a fully formed stand-up show is Lily Catastrophe with Little Sister, a collection of her best material served in a poignant package that delivers on all cylinders.
The stage is set up cleanly, with floral decorations laid out in a triangle formation around her. There are instances of her personality and interests peppered throughout, including a Chappell Roan CD cover and a plushie, but it all serves to convey a simple message; she’s the favourite. Her positioning is generally confined to this triangle, making it easy for the audience to follow, but it results in some phenomenal moments where she steps out completely when she’s talking about things that have put her out of her comfort zone, or just straight up addressing certain members of the audience whose reactions aren’t quite what she was expecting.
Her jokes are framed by her position in the family hierarchy. Lily is a genius in that no matter what the content of her jokes, she always finds a way to bring it back to her throughline of being the little sister that gets away with everything, but is always seen as smaller. It all feels so satisfying to watch, with every joke feeling like it has a place in the overall narrative. It certainly helps that the jokes are hilarious.
It also helps that Lily is just a goddamn talent. She’s effortlessly endearing and fully commits to her character of the little sister. She’s not afraid to call out anything weird happening the room, but she presents as a person with vulnerabilities and deeper thoughts about her identity. You can hear it in the wide range of audience reactions she receives; there’s always somebody cackling, giggling or aww’ing at her material. She does what every good little sister does; moulds the audience like putty in her hand, while we sit there enjoying it.
There’s nary a moment where I’m not cracking up at either a well-crafted joke, a sharp tonal turn, or a silly reaction to something around the room. Lily isn’t afraid to squat down and squint, using her entire physicality to embody the spirit of the joke. You can see the humour pulsing through her movements as she walks right up to two little troublemakers in the second row and wordlessly has them in stitches. Everything is well-paced, well-timed and you’re never left thinking about anything else but what the next joke is going to be.
Little Sister is not just a celebration of Lily Catastrophe‘s youth and identity. It’s the culmination of her best jokes, beautifully laid out as a narrative that’s as authentic as it is hilarious. It’s the kind of show that makes you want to take the performer under your wing, whilst fully aware of the trouble she’s likely to drag you into.
A true 妹妹 indeed.
Disclosure: As a somewhat active member of the Wellington performing arts community, I may be quite familiar with a number of the performers in this show. Having said that, I am not a liar, and there is zero bias in my reviews, shut up.
Also, tickets were provided to me for free by the production. Literally changes nothing, though