Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Reviewed by: Padraig McAuliffe
If you are looking for crowdwork in Edinburgh, Yoky Yu’s show is about as good as I have ever seen. Chaotic, unpredictable and at times incredibly dark, Yu manages to turn a room full of strangers into one big part of the show.
The evening started unusually, with no music playing as the audience entered, which initially led to a slightly strange atmosphere in the room. Yu quickly turned this to her advantage, bunching the Monday evening crowd together and immediately creating the sense of community that makes a great comedy gig.
Yu launched straight into some fantastic crowdwork. Her unusual approach and slightly off-kilter delivery had the audience howling with laughter as she bounced between Neil, a returning audience member, a group of English lads and seemingly anyone else unfortunate enough to catch her attention. She is incredibly quick on her feet and has a natural ability to connect with people without the interactions ever feeling forced.
Her prepared material is equally unpredictable. A sudden pivot into a routine about eating a dog caught me completely off guard and kicked the show itself off brilliantly. From there, race, sexuality and cultural differences are all fair game. The material is probably darker and more sexual than you might expect from a 5pm show, but this audience was completely up for it.
Yu created a strong connection with the audience, leading them to involve themselves in the show to a much higher degree than at a typical performance. When Yu informed the audience that she was a therapist, one audience member responded with an incredulous, “F*ck off”. Another audience member ended up singing Under the Sea, and a man wearing a ketamine T-shirt naturally found himself involved. A random fun-fact competition somehow became part of proceedings too. I’m still not entirely sure what this show is, but I know I was having fun.
Yu is also completely willing to push a joke until the room doesn’t quite know how to react. Her suggestion that the Chinese government is better than the Catholic Church because “they don’t touch little boys, they just kill little girls” produced groans and laughter in almost equal measure.
COVID being made in China, a Chinese version of Clap Your Hands, racist school experiences and family stories all become material in her hands.
The result is a show that feels like it could go absolutely anywhere. Yu’s prepared material is very funny, but her real strength is her relationship with the audience. She listens, reacts incredibly quickly and has the confidence to follow an interaction wherever it takes her.
Chaotic, dark and an awful lot of fun, this is as good a crowdwork show as I’ve seen. Yoky Yu took a Monday evening audience and turned them into an essential part of a brilliantly unpredictable hour of comedy.
★★★★★ (5/5)
