Lou Sanders: Excuse Me, You're Sitting On My Penis Again

A disclaimer to readers a certain way disposed: contrary to the title's implications, this show is substantively light on penises, and any sitting thereon. It does, however, feature Lou Sanders, and all the ditzy comic appeal that goes with her.

Most of the material is structured around Sanders' (semi-fictional) attempts to gain entry to Eton College (for academic purposes, as opposed to a forced physical breach) as a 20-something female. It's a cute premise, as we're treated to hearing the audio recordings of her phone calls to various admissions officers. It's schlocky fun, with the laughs derived more from her willful immaturity than any satirical perspective she provides.

The good news for Sanders is that even if people stop finding her funny, she'll always have her biggest fan: herself. Giggling at her own jokes before the audience even has a chance to, she has the pre-emptive reflex snicker of a gawky adolescent stifling a laugh when a teacher (not an Eton one, to her hypothetical dismay) asks her a question in front of her friends. It does add to her affable charm, but it also undermines the fluency of her storytelling.

She's constructed a minxy, bashful stage persona befitting the flustered whimsy she purveys, but too often her act strays into the realm of chortling teenager as opposed to accomplished standup. The audience, too, rides more along the wave of unbroken amused murmerings than big punchline moments. Sanders is on the right track, she just needs to make sure she reaches the destination before losing herself in laughter along the journey.