Rose Matafeo: On and On and On review – a star-crossed love life laid hilariously bare

Rose Matafeo: On and On and On review – a star-crossed love life laid hilariously bare

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh
TV success has only sharpened the Starstruck creator’s punches as she overshares about the indignities of dating, her fine gags closer to the bleeding edge than ever before

Was any standup show more keenly anticipated than Rose Matafeo’s follow-up to her award-winning 2018 set Horndog? You can forgive the delay: the New Zealander has been establishing herself in the hearts of millions since, with her hit TV romcom Starstruck. She’s been busy with affairs of her own heart, too. On and On and On is a pretty stark interrogation of Matafeo’s love life – more star-crossed than starstruck, or doomed by the 32-year-old’s suite of domineering neuroses. Which, if disastrous for her relationships, are a gift to her comedy.

No need to worry that TV success might have blunted Matafeo’s standup: this set feels closer to the bleeding edge than anything she’s done before. And just as funny. Its keynotes are candour, an unforgiving intelligence, and a refusal to be glib about anything. Her voice feels compulsive, as if she might talk, explain, rationalise her way out of the emotional labyrinth. We’re on Jessie Cave’s oversharing terrain, as Matafeo spills the contents of a 16,000-word journal she kept on her smartphone’s notes app, recalls her lonely 20s in London (and all those misjudged relationships with posh men), then addresses the fallout from a more recent breakup.

At Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, until 25 August. Then at Arcola theatre, London, 30 September-19 October.

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