Kitty Ford understands an audience, and I think there is already an awareness that if the show were placed elsewhere, much of the content of the script would have to be altered. This is a show that needs to maintain a life outside of Cambridge and the Corpus walls. “I simply can’t, and won’t, shut up about this show anytime soon” I hope that, as Ford approaches their graduation, the show has left a lasting legacy on Cambridge comedy and the understanding of comedians as to what they can individually achieve. I recognised some fresher faces in the crowd. It is exactly what people don’t expect to see from a Footlight, and it is exactly what the Footlights need. And even if you aren’t, it’s hard to argue against the fact that they are bloody well funny. There is an impressive disbandment of tradition not only in the blatant identity of the show, but in the thorough yet exciting structure and plethora of skill that is on display. I cried, but I also couldn’t stop laughing. The sheer propensity and variation available for the audience to lap up is astounding. In the show’s autobiographical nature, Ford verbally at one point highlights the influence of the likes of Hannah Gadsby and Mae Martin, but Ford is in a league of their own entirely. “It is a rare thing, for many, to feel seen in comedy” It is a brave thing that Ford has done in simply the title of this show, and I am so proud that they delivered.

Laughter is one of the few near human universals, yet in both Cambridge and still the wider world, there is still an impression to outsiders of the scene that those onstage, especially in stand-up, are the traditional exclusive and elite. It is a rare thing, for many, to feel seen in comedy.

Ford spoke of an oversized jacket they had had as a child - a piece of clothing that made them feel, truly, like themselves. The first of these monologues was delivered. Moments after I first settled into the acceptance that I was to watch a good, but only a good, show catered around gender-confusion in the most Cantabrian sense, Ford left the stage in a frenzy, and returned in a modestly unpretentious demeanour. The most effective component of this variety, however, is Ford’s autobiographical monologues that ease themselves throughout the show. I don’t think that hairdressing is my calling. I couldn’t help myself with the last one. We are treated to Shrek-inspired lip-syncs, sardonic yet reflective folk songs and an invitation by Kitty to come up and actually cut their hair off near the end. The audience is, throughout the set, presented with such a witty performance, that it is hard to believe all this skill is coming from one performer alone. Yet, the script consistently allows the audience to assume the obvious to arise before sweeping them off their feet with crafty self-awareness and a comic reassurance. “Sweeping the audience off their feet with crafty self-awareness and reassurance of the comedic form” So when, for the first six minutes, Ford opened on a charismatic but extremely Cambridge-centric spiel. None of these words mean anything to anyone who doesn’t make the bizarre choice to live within a one-point-five mile radius of the Corpus Playroom for a good chunk of their precious youth, nor should they. in the big wide world world none of these things actually matter at all. “Footlight”, “ADC Main”, “ Varsity Review”.

Ford is a Footlight, and while many within Cambridge University don’t know the exact intricacies of this role, everyone seems to grasp that it’s a pretty big deal.Īnd yet, one of the issues I have with Cambridge Theatre (my dearly beloved) in general, is the self-flattery that is crafted around it. Kitty Ford had already made a name for themselves in the Cambridge comedy scene long before their solo hour.

Stage footlight