Molly McGuinness has always been a slob, a small voice in the back of her mind questioning whether she should be doing more with her life. So when she developed a life-threatening illness and fell into a coma, the enforced slobbishness was confronting.
This is the interesting premise of Slob, the debut hour from Salford comedian McGuinness, who is affable and warm from the off, handing out buffet items and bantering ably with the crowd. McGuinness’ style is dry and low-key but she’s clearly at home behind the mic, taking her time with the punchlines and turning diversions into material, unphased by going off-script. Despite the dramatic subject matter, there’s a down-to-earth quality to both her delivery and her material, which meanders nicely from high-street exchange shop CEX to the old men in her local pub and an unusual response to a gig in the Yorkshire town of Goole.
The hour could benefit from a little more scaffolding, the premise only fully crystallising in the latter half – but McGuinness is a talented comic and a pleasure to pass the time with regardless.
Molly McGuinness: Slob, Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), until 24 Aug (not 11, 12), 2.55pm