Sarah Roberts: Scary Movie 7 – Gothic and absurdly funny late night show (Fringe review) 4.5 Stars ****⯨

Sarah Roberts is 34, single, and, according to her mum and all the single 34-year-old men, the scariest thing in the whole world. She also thinks she’s cursed, and has believed it since she was born, when she ate her twin sister in the womb. 

This horrible truth, accompanied by some black humour and eerie sound effects, marks the beginning of her new show at the Edinburgh Fringe, Scary Movie 7.

The show is set in a pitch-black room at Monkey Barrel, usually used for escape rooms, a detail that the comedian sarcastically points out to us at the start of the show. 

Accompanied by unsettling, scary background music, Sarah makes her entrance wearing a black hooded cloak and a large chain hanging around her neck. Then, the doors are locked. 

And that’s the beginning of this paranormal and extremely hilarious show. We are immediately presented with the truth of her twin sister, which becomes even more absurd when Sarah reveals that her parents had given a name to their unborn daughter, Siobhan.

Told this, Sarah develops a fear of abandonment and loneliness. Since she was a kid, she has told all her classmates that she was born a murderer and has felt that no one would ever stay by her side, because of this frightening truth about herself. 

The comedian opens up about all the disappointments in her life and how she has always felt different, turning her desire for love and to be loved as her ‘own thing’, as her parents defined it. 

However, these unsettling and sad feelings are conveyed in the most hilarious way; her strong storytelling makes you want to root for and support her rather than pity her. 

Sarah also offers a reflection on how difficult it is to navigate your thirties in a digital landscape. In an age where you mainly build relationships through screens, she opens up about strange online interactions, being ghosted, a drunken viral Tweet about her ex boyfriend’s new girlfriend, and the realisation that she may simply be cursed for the rest of her life. 

It’s intrusive, playful, incredibly smart, and interactive. All these gothic and macabre elements of the narration create the perfect atmosphere for a unique late night show.

Sarah has that happy ability of involving the audience in her show in a reassuring and natural way, she remembers everyone’s names and makes them feel comfortable and heard, even in that spooky room.

Combining different types of comedy with her storytelling allows her to pause the narrative and engage with the front row, asking about first crushes and online viral moments, breaking the wall between herself and the audience. Her performance is also marked by relatable existential truths and personal reflections on the digital era. 

‘Some of my friends have children, I’m doing the Edinburgh Fringe again’. 

Sarah, we hope that this will not be your last time, because you had the crowd in your hands, thanks to your incredible charm and talent as a performer and storyteller. This incredibly funny and dark hour is still running until the end of the month, so catch it before it ends!

Scary Movie 7 by Sarah Roberts runs at Monkey Barrel 2 (Monkey Barrel Comedy), 22:00, until 30th August