This is a glowing review, just so you know. I think Harpur is a tops performer, and her show was well structured and rather daring.
The thing is, Sarah Harpur does glow when she’s on stage. With her ditzy persona, good looks and bright sunny attitude, you are happy to let the pretty lady sell you on her jokes. It’s because of that people often ignore a pointed darkness found directly under her curly blonde hair tendrils. To expand, part of her show was a short film she made in the 90s reenacting the Bain murders with Barbie dolls, and that was awesome.
Harpur’s show was built around discussions of life, pets and death. Some of the material was stuff she uses in her shorter sets, but there was a bunch of deeply personal material. The death sequence discussed the suicide of her father as a bit of a jolly jape, and somehow it worked. Harpur is plumbing new territory as a solo performer now that she is growing comfortable with her comic persona, and I think it is working. She is at her best when she’s less frantic; her punch lines hit more deftly, so watching her when time isn’t an issue is definitely worthwhile.
Sarah Harpur—Harpur’s Bizarre
The Fringe Bar
27 April – 1 May 2010