Behold Chronos! Master of time, plower of wrinkles, clouder of minds, scourge of the firm breast! And lo, our brave protagonist did take up arms and join the quest to confront youth’s demon. A sharp tongue she did wield - to cut through the bullshit. Eyeglasses of insight she wore - to read text close up. An M&S cardigan she did don - a cloak of invisibility to hide in plain sight. Across oceans of apology she sailed to find her quarry, but will her wit and will be enough to lay low the Time Titen?
Enter the Dragons was utterly inspired. A light-hearted, unflinching, riotously funny and surprisingly poignant show about the experience of aging as an older-middle-aged woman. A&E Comedy had me laughing all the way to enlightenment.
Dealing with the ‘issue’ of being an older-middle-age lady is a risky business. Any poe-faced attempt would have fallen flat on its face. Instead, our audience was presented with a barrage of anarchic humour, interspersed with some subtly powerful thoughts. Everyone was laughing right from the outset, and the chuckles continued pretty much unabated for the hour-long performance. Some of the humour was tongue in cheek, some was straight up Monty Python-esque silliness, but it was all on the right side of good taste while never being bland.
Yet for all the laughs, silly costumes and irreverence, Enter the Dragons had a point to make. Without needing to ram it down your throat, the show managed to be deeply empowering. There is power in being on the other side of 50, and it’s there for the taking if only you will let yourself grab it.
Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards, our comedy duo for the duration, were an absolute delight. Having fun and being funny, they were clearly very comfortable on stage and really enjoyed sharing the experience with the audience. Interacting with each other well, the two even managed to pull off some audience participation in a way that was neither forced nor cringeworthy. You can find more from these two here, and I urge you to do so. Rumour has it that they have another show coming out next year. If it’s half as half as good as this one then it’s going to be a corker.