Some people collect coins or stamps, some others, like me, collect banana stickers. Katy Perry collects people and, during The Very Perry Show, revives some of these people in a lively stand-up comedy. From the moment she steps on stage as herself, talking directly to the audience, I can tell she's a fringe veteran, cheerful and confidently addressing her intimate crowd.
Her 60-minute show is a jewel box of different human instances, with fully-fleshed characters aged 6 to 75. First on stage is Carmel, a pensioner from Northern Ireland obsessed with Ken Barlow from Coronation Street. She secretly hates her best friend and is remarkably well informed on the lives of other villagers.
When Perry re-emerges from the sketch, she finds a little red diary in her pocket, belonging to 12-year-old Susy. She's been ejected from boarding school for wiping out the chemistry lab and returns home to find her mother comatose with a cocktail of antidepressants and amphetamines. Fascinated by her state of stupor, she decides to produce a documentary for BBC called 'Mummy on the Brink', which causes havoc amongst the spectators.
