Jessica Fostekew: Luxury Tramp, Edinburgh fringe review

 

But there were two shows going on here. The other show was more familiar for a young comic: how Fostekew relates to the world, and how she is learning to be her own person in it.

 

Both shows are good, and are rock-solid for confidence, delivery and timing. There's also a particularly fine line in misdirection. But it would have been nice to hold tighter of the rich seam that being a Luxury Tramp opens up, as that was where the best material seemed to lie.

 

Jokes about her trampy actions clashing with her classy mother provided some of the biggest laughs of the show, headlining a great roster of stories about her family. 

 

It would have been good to hear more from other such starting points, like the hinted-at dinner combo of Dom Perrignon and a kebab that we didn't hear any more about. It sounds like there's some great anecdotes tucked away that we're not hearing, and Fostekew works best when she sounds like a gossip. Drunk stories with that posh edge could work really well. 

 

There were a few stylistic annoyances – the frequent impressions punctuating the set seemed to pacify the upbeat audience's mood on a regular basis – but Fostekew is otherwise great at working with the audience and taking them with her.

 

It almost seems a shame that the great idea of Luxury Tramp has now been used, but if she can find the right theme and have the confidence to do something beyond the standard debut stylings, it's possible Fostekew could do something truly amazing next year.