Little Lark of London

“Ooh, that’s good for comedy”

According to Santoro herself, Lindsey Santoro: Pink Tinge is a show in which she is going to “shout about [her] bumhole for 55 minutes,” an interesting start to a comedy show! The show actually begins with her poking fun at the classic Fringe show that has a complicated narrative and a dark moment towards the end of the show that forces the audience to reflect on their life choices (when effective, it’s incredible. When not used properly . . .). Instead, Santoro is going to just tell funny stories from her life that don’t form any kind of overarching narrative, a form of standup I’ve been missing just a bit these past few months. 

Though the show is a bit vulgar (she did promise 55 minutes about her bumhole!), it is never too much and keeps a light tone, bringing yet another breath of fresh air to go against the classic Fringe show. When she talks about wanting to be a lesbian, she jokes about taking a test in a magazine and having her friend tell her that there is no way she’s actually a lesbian. Santoro makes the audience feel like they are her friends, catching up over coffee and laughing over ridiculous situations they find themselves in. When there are latecomers she yells at them for a bit before recapping the show for them, ensuring that no one really feels to isolated.

Santoro loves to laugh at herself, letting out huge cackles of laughter that make you start laughing as well. One hilariously self-aware moment is when she is talking about a “romantic” moment with her husband, with, as she describes, “an Iceland bag floating in the wind,” and he turns and tells her, “The way the sun is setting is highlighting your moustache.” The entire show has this vibe to it, a series of self-deprecating jokes with nothing truly heavy behind them, making them fun for everyone to laugh with Santoro at. Another fantastic example of this is when Santoro tells the tale of when she felt a lump on her breast and went to get it checked, only for it to be revealed that it was just a Malteser. 

Indeed, these silly stories are all great – I found myself laughing throughout the entire show without a single joke falling. A particular highlight is when Santoro defends her controversial statement that “We need to stop hen dos” with a story about her £800 trip to Blackpool for one. Another one of her stories, in which she goes rock climbing with a friend, Alison (whose personality is described as being the type of woman to havve eyelashes on the front of her car), genuinely had me in tears and struggling to breathe because I was laughing so hard. 

Ultimately, Lindsey Santoro: Pink Tinge is an absolute delight of a show that is a breath of fresh air compared to the traditional Fringe shows. There’s no real narrative or a dark moment and that’s what makes it what it is – an hour of hilarious escapism with a brilliant comedian. 

Lindsey Santoro: Pink Tinge ran from 25 to 27 January at Soho Theatre.