Faye Davies from Diva Magazine came down to Femmes on the Thames on the 17th May to review the show and this is what she wrote.
Who likes funny women? Everyone does. That's why Femmes by the Thames, a comedy evening of exclusively female performers held on Battersea Barge, is such a brilliant idea. The evening kicked off with a set from our host, lesbian geek-eccentric, Rosie Wilby, including a lovely spin on the repercussions of Darwinian theory for same-sex relationships and possibly my favorite line of the evening, as Rosie remarked that as she had a crush on a straight girl at school, perhaps the slogan should actually be 'Some people are straight. Get over it!'. Next act, Tiffany Stevenson kept the laughs coming with her girl-down-the-pub persona, immediately endearing herself to me with her explicit disdain for those who favour expressions such as 'random!', 'totes!' and 'amazeballs!'. Tiffany's down to earth delivery proved quite a juxtaposition with next act, character-comedian, Susan Harrison who took to the stage as, and I'm not kidding here, an over-privileged unicorn, an act that was both brave and completely ridiculous, but not without some nice moments.
The second half of the evening was so niche and theoretically peculiar that had I been forewarned, I suspect I'd have left. But I'd have been an idiot to, as I'd have missed three sets that were not only very funny but also highly original. Liz Bentley, in a state of cheerful derangement, offered us a mix of chat and music which encompassed not only her comedic talents but also her skills on the ukulele and keyboard. In particular, Liz deserves considerable kudos for the chorus about how shit camping is. Whilst Bentley is probably used to being the quirkiest act on any bill she plays, comparatively, the final acts of the evening made her look positively pedestrian. Whilst Holly Burn opted for an erotized reading of the Wagamama menu, Cariad Lloyd's entire set was a satirisation of the character Jess from the sitcom New Girl, of which my companion for the evening assured me that you didn't need to be familiar with to appreciate. Both were utterly bizarre and quite excellent. Lloyd in particular got my vote, not just because she was very funny but because she also looks a bit like Juliette Lewis which is always a Good Thing. All in all, nice surroundings, lovely crowd and very funny women. Well played everyone.
The next Femmes event is 4 October at the RVT with Zoe Lyons headlining.
