Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016 REVIEW – Sarah Callaghan 24 **

Sarah Callaghan, in her Fringe show, 24, does a bit of self-examination, but not without a pun or two to make the journey palatable.

The South London twenty-something’s energy is certainly not lacking, using an upfront and straight-talking style to engage with the audience about some proactive changes she decides to make in her like after uncovering a Facebook link to ‘10 steps that WILL improve your life in 24 hours.’

Award-winning comedian, actor and writer Sarah Callaghan, is one of the youngest comics on the circuit, with her debut comedy performance in 2010. Her vibrant stage persona has quickly made its mark, leading her to become a Funny Woman finalist the following year.

However, for someone with that acclaim this show is somewhat weak, despite her confidence. In a room with an audience of around twenty people, she struggles to get anything near a cackle or a snort, as her they conservatively hold back on her puns, which were either too obvious or delivered too subtly.

The show itself begins with promise but soon loses our interest, as she delivers puns such as, “more inbred (bread) than a Pret a Manger” and “jumping over barriers like a s**t Mo Farah and I don’t even do drugs anymore”. Along with her prolonged references to London, Uber and the St Pancras pianos, instead of keeping these more universal, it is understandable that the crowd lose interest.

With her energy, confidence and drive, the potential is clearly there. However, she perhaps needs to work with her audience more, and lose some of these many London references.

Let’s see what she has to bring to the Fringe in 2017.