Review: Annabel Marlow… Is This Okay??

Annabel Marlow is a beguiling doll-faced musical comedian/comical musician whose blend of talent and candour inspires clear-eyed adoration in her Gen Z fans.

Her debut solo show is packed with songs, mainly with her on keyboard but one on the guitar too, about relatable youthful concerns, chief among them sweetly acknowledging her need for attention and intimacy. While most – such as the one about an ex who messages her out of the blue, and a doctor’s response to her request to remove her contraceptive implant – are funny, a couple deliberately aren’t.

One of these, about a year in lockdown, is a sincere and moving love song, providing further evidence of her musical and emotional range.

Marlow’s knowingly kooky approach might not work in less charming hands, and if you prefer your comedy blokey and shouty it won’t be for you, but she nails it, adding just enough grit (whether that’s a witty acknowledgement of just how much her ass is sweating in this hot little room to even more intimate mimes) to her openness. 

Part of the original Edinburgh cast of Six: The Musical, she’s already proven the extent of her singing talents, but this show is a promising comic calling card.