by Luisa De la Concha Montes

This stand-up comedy double-act features Jamie Lerner and Mariah Girouard, two Americans living in Barcelona. The act starts with Mariah, who tells us about her disastrous dating experiences, her crack-ridden town in the US, and how cats and women have more in common that we may think. Her delivery is confident, balancing dark jokes with silly remarks in natural way.

Jamie’s show is a bit different. She makes use of her ukulele to sing about girls she hates (because they are prettier than hers), Jewishness and being bisexual. Her delivery is very confident and honest, even accepting her defeat with pride when one of her new jokes provokes no laughter. She often invites the audience to sing with her, creating a warm environment where we could let our guard down.

However, some of the questions she asked feel a bit too direct, such as “do you masturbate?” which may work for a Barcelona audience, but it definitely did not go down as smoothly with a small English one. Moreover, some of the transitions between joke and music are a bit forced, as she always warns us before starting a new song. This removes some of the magic. Instead, she could just launch herself into song, surprising us.

Both acts work well together, as they are thematically similar but different enough in execution
to not be repetitive. However, the show’s promotional material suggested would perform together rather than separately, which is a bit misleading. It may have been even more interesting for them to join each other at some point or, at least, reference each other’s jokes.

With stand-up comedy, a big part of its success relies on the audience. Unfortunately, the venue was quite empty at this particular performance makes interaction a bit awkward at times. Despite this, both performers make the most with what they have and they still make us laugh.

In the Sh*t runs through 25 May.

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