Unmarked Vehicle

Mantripp found the perfect balance.

★★★★
cabaret review (edinburgh) | Read in About 2 minutes
Published 16 Aug 2017

Chloe Mantripp knows how to balance, and she does so skilfully on many levels. She’s a stand-up comedian, storyteller and acrobat, as well as a meat pie delivery driver. Her late night adventures on the road, while driving from factory to distribution centre, are symbolised by balancing on a giant hoop in the middle of the stage.

Relatable little traffic annoyances, like motorists who cling to the wrong lane, drive Mantripp crazy – which she craftily enacts by spinning around in her hoop. Through silly moments she wins the audience over completely. She talks to the audience as well to the radio that spits out songs that are on every station’s late night playlist. She treats her audience with funny observations – but misses the point that Sting’s 'Every Step You Take' was indeed written as a sinister and possessive song and not as a love ballad.

Mantripp knows exactly when to weave in twists in her story, thus effortlessly keeping our attention. There is physical theatre too, and the way she symbolises an autoerotic act is stunningly beautiful.

Sometimes she’s plagued by technical and timing difficulties – but she easily overcomes them. The end of her show is suddenly rather moralistic and feels like it’s shoehorned in, but that’s the only true flaw of this beautifully crafted balancing act of a woman who possesses many talents.