The main motif for this show is the Skegness Slagbomb, an unlikely cocktail made up of Jägermeister, WKD, and Iron Bru – but one apparently essential to getting through a modern UK seaside holiday.
Manito herself isn’t quite made of girders, but she does have some sharp edges, with routines mixing the aggressive with the more sentimental as she riffs around family life.
Her delivery hovers somewhere between Russell Kane and Mark Steel, sharing a blend of working class topics but appealing to a middle class audience – her after-show merch was a (very fragrant) bathbomb, rather than the eponymous boozy drink.
The material is very funny, from an unusual take on a mother-in-law joke to some slightly more predictable routines on school WhatsApp groups and the perils of EasyJet.
Manito keeps things comfortable but with a frisson at the edges. The tale of getting some ‘alternative’ drugs to help her mum’s illness is a beautifully crafted case in point: the story shocks just the right amount to be funny rather than awkward, and is littered with asides and callbacks that layer the laughs on.
This was the first night of the tour but it really didn’t show; it’s already well-honed, with no weak spots.
Manito has mixed up a pacey and very enjoyable show, with plenty of relatable jokes and a narrative heart that leaves you feeling warm as you leave, even on a rainy Norwich night.
- Slagbomb is touring nationally, including September 18-20 at Soho Theatre, London.
