Absurd and unapologetic, Amy Mason’s Behold! recounts the comic’s recent experience of digital hacking, attempting to navigate the confusion of receiving gifts from the hackers. A psychiatric nurse, three double ended dildos, and the letters of Emily Dickinson feature heavily (and not disparately so) in this brilliantly entertaining solo show.
Mason’s show is strikingly intimate, exposing her rough edges without hesitation. But hers is a purposeful unravelling, one executed with the keen insight and wit held by only a truly talented storyteller. The odd pun is thrown in for good measure but, overall, the humour rests with Mason’s unfaltering performance: she claims the stage and her delivery is perfectly dry.
Beneath her deadpan sensibilities, a subtle depth lurks. Mason asks us what is true connection in the digital age (if not bonding with guinea pig sellers or members of Facebook car groups) and what does that mean in the context of our individual mental health? What is privacy in a not-so-password protected world? Mason doesn’t come to any grandiose conclusions and yet Behold! is a highly accomplished show, littered with all-too relatable home truths.
Amy Mason: Behold!, Pleasance Courtyard, until Aug 25 (not 13), 5.50pm