The saga continues. After recounting a traumatic childhood (troubled mother, tragic house fire) in her 2023 debut The Hottest Girl at Burn Camp, Krystal Evans picks up the story as she heads out of high school and into showbusiness – eventually.
There are musical theatre classes and dreams of stand-up, but her teens and twenties are largely dominated by hospitality jobs – as is this show. It has nothing like the same drama, then – thank heavens, for Evans’ sake – but the range of service roles still throws up plenty of material, from fast food joints to posh clubs, where the stinking rich did unspeakable things. Which she does speak about.
Not all of it hits the spot but two sections particularly stand out. Readings from her teenage diaries elicit shrieks – fun shrieks – as young Krystal pontificates on bad presidents, good stand-ups, and trying to lose her cherry by joining a church. And stories from that club are pretty staggering, including at least one future Trump staffer, who doesn’t come out of it well, amazingly enough.
Several twists later she makes it as a stand-up, in Scotland, and now as an author – Evans’ memoir is on sale after. For anyone currently hating a job in hospitality, then, it’s another inspiring survival tale.
Krystal Evans: A Star is Burnt, Monkey Barrel Comedy, until 24 Aug (not 13), 7.10pm