Pam Ann aka Caroline Reid
Pam Ann Show at the Brighton Dome Fails to Take Off
A Pam Ann show - "You Fu-Coffee?"
Read the Mothership Blog review of the Pam Ann show at the Brighton Dome.
I adore Pam Ann. The gay-friendly Australian comedienne’s YouTube videos have adorned my Mothership Gay Dating profile for over a year. My partner and I have coined Pam Ann’s comedic phrases for everyday use (”Busy, Busy, Busy“, “You Fu-Coffee?”). I’ve been to see a Pam Ann show three times, bought her DVD and watched her on TV. I love this mad, bad, air hostess with the huge hair which is the Pam Ann phenomenon.
And phenomenon she is. Pam Ann (real name Caroline Reid) tours extensively all over the world. She’s filmed a viral promotional video for British Airways, has toured with Cher, and has even crewed for Elton John! The gay community adores her and has embraced her shiny uniforms, filthy tongue and hilarious insight into the idiosyncrasies of air travel.
Here it comes…
BUT…last night’s show (1 August 2009) at the Brighton Dome left my partner and I, and two friends who came with us, unimpressed. My partner hardly laughed once throughout the show, and I found my own concentration lapsing and my buttocks complaining as the show dragged on for one hour and 45 minutes without an interval.
Pam Ann needs to try harder now
She just wasn’t funny any more. For a start, there wasn’t nearly enough new material. OK, I accept this has got to be tricky when your whole act revolves around plane travel, but tricky or not, new material has to be found.
To be fair, Pam did provide some fresh subject matter, but for the most part it simply wasn’t good enough or funny enough. For instance there were a lot of rather unfunny references to swine flu and the pigs at the back of the plane, and British Airways staff working for free, but so what? This topical material could have been done much better, and with greater effect.
Part of the problem lies in the show’s format. Pam Ann’s shows used to be constructed with segmented comedic set pieces - for instance how passengers in the different travel classes behave, or how long it takes for the drinks trolley to come round. This format made the best of each subject - allowing it to stand on its own two feet.
Last night however was like one long rambling stand-up routine, punctuated by two very cute male dancers (they were excellent) and of course the audience participation. The new material was mixed in with the old material, and neither were done justice. Even her old faithful routines - ‘Busy Busy Busy’ for instance, was done in a half-hearted joking way like she assumed everyone had seen it before (our friends hadn’t).
At times the comedienne seemed off her face. Her show is littered with references to recreational drugs and as she lay on the stage flapping her hands and pretending to be a seal I couldn’t help wondering if art was more than just imitating life.
The audience participation (always a key part of a Pam Ann show) could have been improved with a better game. Her victims simply had to strutt across the stage in a manner suited to the airline they worked for, which resulted in some cringe-able moments which dissolved into random dancing.
It wasn’t all bad and there were flashes of brilliance - Michelle Obama’s makeover of Air Force One including a hair salon, zebra throws and nail bar (I’m laughing as I write that), and the mockery of Easyjet’s speedy boarding where you pay extra to be first on the transfer bus gave me some real belly laughs.
To be fair, the well-lubricated Pride audience seemed to love the show, and she received a standing ovation at the end. Pam Ann does have a very strong gay following, but this could be the problem - has Pam Ann got lazy? Does she think that her gay popularity allows her to get away with delivering mediocre performances that lack the edge and magic of her earlier days?
Last night’s Brighton Dome show was only two-thirds full at best, despite prominent advertising on Gaydar and in the gay press for weeks - and it was Brighton Pride yesterday too! I expected a sell out.
Pam Ann’s British Airways viral video
I’m not about to hand in my Pam Ann Airways frequent flyer card yet, but the comedienne cannot rest on her laurels! She needs to do a lot more to recapture the freshness of her earlier days. New material, new props, new formatting, new audience participation games, even - shock-horror - a new finale (and “From New York to LA” will take some beating).
But combine these with her incredible timing, sharp humour and outrageous sense of fun and Pam Ann will be flying higher than ever before, and I for one will be on her plane, singing along from the karaoke microphones that drop down in case of an emergency.
By David Abrehart
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
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August 5th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
haha Lily - very good - except you can’t spell your own name
Thanks John and Matthew - appreciate your (different!) viewpoints. Glad Pam didn’t disappoint you in the end Matthew, and yes John I remember Regina Fong, although for me I felt Regina Fong was better on the bar/club circuit than in her own show.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:40 pm
YOU SHOULD NOT SAY BAD THINGS ABOUT PAM ANN!
Hehehehehe.
I love Pammy Ann. She is my friend.
YOU ARE A VERY BAD MAN AND SHOULD SHUT UP!
Hehehehehe.
My name is Lilly!
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:38 am
Pam Ann’s act has always been economy class fare. It’s been some years now since she started to turn her gay nightclub performances into proper stage shows, and from the beginning press reviewers picked up on the fact that her comedy material was stretched too thinly as a result.
A performer like the late Regina Fong could get away with doing the same act over and over, because Reg created a gay following that loved to sing along and act out favourite routines like Skippy, and the Typewriter, a format which complemented the gay pub/club scene and didn’t aspire beyond it.
Pam Ann, on the other hand, has been kept aloft up till now by the fact that gay men find flying amusing in itself, very often reinforcing gay
stereotyes when in the air, and have failed to see her ozone-thin material for what it really is.
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:49 pm
I saw the Sunday night show by the way.
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:48 pm
I appreciated the review. Well written. Set me up for disappointment but I really enjoyed the show. I’ve seen one of her shows before. My partner’s seen several. He spent a few nights with her late into the morning after her shows when she was doing the drag track in London. I thought it was hilarious and I hope no one will be discouraged from seeing her. I went tonight and even the ten minutes she spent laying on the stage clicking her heels, rolling about, were brilliant. Top-form, it ever I’ve seen it.