Fern Brady: People Are Idiots

Fern Brady would not seem out of place shouting at strangers at 3am on the night bus. Life hasn’t been hard on her, it’s the people around her that get her so vexed. If it’s not her parents it’s her boyfriend, or her co-workers, or the audience members or the sound technician at the back of the room. You get the idea. She isn’t afraid to scream at someone if they are upsetting her. Thankfully it’s not too unnerving and her—mostly—Scottish accent lends itself well to her angry disposition (despite the fact she would probably think that’s racist).

Problems with Brady’s family come up time and again. She is clearly angry with her parents. It could be that it’s all their fault. Sort of like teenage angst if she wasn’t in her late twenties. Fortunately, whatever twisted internal mess they left has made her funny. She mocks herself unashamedly and goes off on mini rants regularly. The workings of her brain are pure fantasy but she blends it well with simple tales of her life, while deftly avoiding the easy jokes.

Brady knows she needs to calm down. She employs techniques to help her and even demonstrates these for the audience in a hate-filled meditation bit that is devastatingly funny, although she does find it difficult to stand still for two consecutive seconds. Also, a scripted section retelling her experiences with dating apps is decidedly above par. Brady's emerging confidence gives her an unusual edge that can only get sharper.