Ania Magliano, co-host of Saturday Night Live UK's Weekend Update, has premiered her new standup show Peach Fuzz at Soho theatre in London, running until 4 July. The 28-year-old comedian delivers a finely tuned set about her quest to live a more embodied life, addressing themes of body alienation and sexuality with expert construction and an open, endearing personality.
A body comedy with philosophical depth
Magliano's show explores her alienation from her own body and its experiences. She looks longingly at other cultures perceived as more corporeal, while questioning whether bodily sensations are worth savouring in the UK. A standout routine involves her ambivalence about sex, already a topic in her therapy, illustrated by a brilliantly British, uncomprehending take on an online sex influencer claiming 27 consecutive orgasms. Another scene finds Magliano prompted by her counsellor to commune with her own genitals via a hand-mirror, a moment that playfully echoes Descartes' mind-body problem.
Expert construction and callbacks
The show sits at a highly enjoyable point between thoughtful, meaningful, and delightfully daft. Detours include the relative virtues of Barbie versus Sylvanian Families and Magliano's penchant for 'indoor boyfriends' as a bisexual woman. Choice gags, such as one about the evolutionary advantage of large labia, are paired with deftly deployed callbacks that only come from the most finely honed standup sets. A closing set-piece in a sensory deprivation tank ties loose ends together, where Magliano learns shareable lessons about what the body is for and why to celebrate it.
TV fame hasn't harmed live work
Magliano's profile surged after co-hosting SNL UK's Weekend Update, a spoof news bulletin. According to the review, this TV success has not diminished her live comedy; instead, Peach Fuzz is described as a 'full-bodied comedy show' and 'a cracker'. The show also appears at Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, from 7-22 August, and tours until 7 May.
