by Zahid Fayyaz

The straight-talking Josephine Lacey’s debut stand-up hour is fresh from this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. The new grandmother from London, focuses on the subject of her raising her son, with him having Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder. Though this is not a natural subject for comedy, Lacey manages to put together an entertaining show from such a serious topic.

The main spine of the show is formed by Josephine’s attempts to help her son understand his sexual awakening and feelings as he gets closer to puberty. This is done with support from a presentation and visual aids, which are both informative as well as funny. She tells stories of her son having issues keeping his clothes on, and his inappropriate outbursts to strangers in supermarkets, with humour and a refreshing lack of sentimentality. Her crowd work is very funny as well, and the audience stay on her side for the whole performance, despite some of the ultra-personal details being expressed. There is also some anger, at both her ex-husband and her son’s school fail to help her son with his issues prepubescent issues.

However, the main takeaway from the show is a combination of both laughter and empathy. It’s a wonderful hour, that is due to go on tour in 2025. It’s topics will resonate for a good while.

Josephine Lacey: Autism Mama runs through 16 November.

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