Review: Cake is delicious, funny and layered
Written and performed by Robyn Reynolds
Review by Charlotte Smee
Robyn Reynolds is descended from Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. She’s also a great baker, has an out-of-control Mum, and tells a brilliant story.
Her new stand-up/one-woman show, Cake, tells stories ranging from ridiculous to heartfelt without skipping a beat. She is an expert at working the crowd, and seamlessly worked in an extra couple of minutes on the night I attended to accommodate a few late, rain-hating Sydneysiders. Who knew a stupid joke about pears could be so funny?
Robyn’s writing has a great sense of pace, moving from topic to topic with the help of a sometimes-working-sometimes-not PowerPoint presentation (in the spirit of the Fringe, of course). Each slide builds up in information, from a simple yet effective text joke about Robyn being disowned by her mother, to sexy French nonsense with subtitles, and finally two very unhinged videos. Robyn is a good girl — as you will find out — but the videos of her trip to Amsterdam to try “space cake” and mushrooms (they’re legal over there!) for the first time were a highlight of the show. At once silly and heartwarming, her extra few minutes at the beginning of the set about her Dad proved to make her intoxicated crying about him as a Shutterstock video fish all the more hilarious.
More heartfelt moments, such as the story of her sexy Grandmother who escaped from the Nazis by posing as a French bureaucrat, were well-placed and brought great emotional depth and balance. During these moments she is earnest, well-spoken, and uses the slides well to show us things like the sense of grandeur and connection she felt at a synagogue in Prague. What is most brilliant about Robyn is her charisma. She is welcoming, responsive and never lets you fall too far into feeling pity or sadness; just the right amount of weight one should feel when being told survival stories in a comedy set.
Some comedians struggle with a full hour and are much better suited to a quick 5-10 minutes of silliness. Not Robyn. There’s a real talent in knowing how to slowly build a set, and an audience, up to a point — and Robyn has it. A combination of frank discussions of difficult topics, very funny jokes about said difficult topics, and a whole heap of charisma make up a delicious show. Plus, you get a sample of Robyn’s real-life cakes too!
Rating: this show takes… the cake.
And now, a slideshow review of Robyn’s slideshow comedy. You’ll have to imagine me presenting it with more information, kind of like your lectures at uni:
Robyn Reynolds’s Cake played at the Erskineville Town Hall from 13 - 17 September 2022.
She has been nominated for Best Comedy at the Sydney Fringe Festival 2022!
Robyn and her funny sexy boyfriend Chris (from the mushroom videos) are performing a split bill Date Night at Melbourne Fringe Festival 21 – 23 October. Get tickets here.
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