1000 Tiny Birds

Chelsea Birkby & Jamie D'Souza - Good Girls

City Café, 2023-08-13

For most of the Fringe so far, we’ve been in broadly the “main” venues (or at least the main indie ones, a la Monkey Barrel). But at last we are recapturing part of the magic of the Fringe, as we descend into a karaoke booth in the basement of an American diner. Ah how good it feels. We are here for my friends Chelsea and Jamie, doing their second split bill together after a year doing solo shows. This is the last night of the split bill, with Jamie now going home and Chelsea inheriting the slot for herself for a solo show. Chelsea’s up first, and is doing an abbreviated version of the show I’ve seen her preview recently. There’s so much good material here, from BBLs to sexting, and she has such a charming presence on stage. Jamie, having moved to London, I’ve seen less of in recent times, so it’s a delight to see what he’s doing now. Keytar eschewed, he talks about growing up in Staines, culminating in a wonderfully told story of a man driving into the river, and how the people of Staines react. It’s an inspired bit, and a glimmer of what might be next.