Growing up at the height of lad culture, eight year-old Chloe Petts was entranced by Page Three, the tabloid convention of including a topless model at the start of every edition. So when a friend suggested that the comedian, now in her early thirties, name her show after what she loves the most, Big Naturals came, well, naturally. And not just because she loves tits. The show is as much of a love letter to “a cracking pair” as it is to the late nineties, early noughties attitudes that made her.
But if some of us emerged out of that time having inherited its worst traits – misogyny, homophobia, an unchecked and earnest ‘Cool Britannia’ mindset – others, like Petts, took the good from the bad. She emerged confident in herself, fuelled by the music of Kasabian and a deep love of the beautiful game. Unique for its reverential-yet-queer lens, Petts’ show uses it as a way into such territory as false idols, cultural representation and dating across the sexuality spectrum.
This is confident, lean and explosively funny stand-up delivered by a voice that is at once singular and reminiscent of one of your best mates. It’s lent extra poignancy while Oasis pass through town and the whiff of lad culture’s return is in the air. But if there’s no stopping the nostalgia wave, maybe Petts can teach us to treat it the same way she used to treat The Sun newspaper: enjoy it for a bit, then leave it on the shelf.
Chloe Petts: Big Naturals, Pleasance Courtyard, until 24 Aug (not 13), 7pm (extra show 15 Aug, 10pm)