Once you see Luisa Omielan's fizzy, full-throttle, hot-blooded performance in What Would Beyoncé Do? you won't forget it. The pocket-sized sassy comedian never holds back, charging around the audience, thrusting her booty in people's faces and rolling around the stage sobbing about a messy relationship, what Russell Kane has dubbed the "kitchen floor reset".
The problem with the show, however, was me. I went alone on a Friday when the theatre was full of fans in an end-of-the-week, hands-in-the-air party mood. This is not strictly a stand-up comedy show either, which maybe explains why it was overlooked by the Foster's Award panel when it played at the Edinburgh Fringe last year. While it is far too sophisticated to describe it as hen night entertainment it does have something of the "girls' night out gig" about it as Omielan opens up, examines her life – mainly her love life – and concludes that it doesn't match up to the have-it-all life of Mrs Jay Z. Though it is worth noting that men had their hands in their air by the end too.
But never mind the critics, there is a real word-of-mouth and social media buzz about this show. It started out as a free show and is now being promoted by Eddie Izzard's promoter and has recently added extra dates at Soho, appropriately around Valentine's Day. You can buy tickets here and read the original review in the Evening Standard here. By the way, this review was written before Beyoncé's recent Presidential Inauguration fuss. So the answer to the question What Would Beyoncé Do? is not "mime".
