Rose Matafeo certainly makes an entrance. Her new show On and On and On kicks off with a high energy dance routine which shows that Matafeo is not just a top writer, actor and stand-up comedian, she has the skills to pay the bills when it comes to dancing too. Maybe this is her audition for Strictly.

 

But the shape-throwing soon makes way for a zinger-filled stand-up show. Her first full-length show since winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2018 finds the corkscrew-haired Kiwi comic on top form. She is 32 and taking stock of her life, deciding who she is and what she likes and, more comedically, what she doesn't like. Which in particular is people who write in notebooks in public. You should have to have a licence to use a Moleskine (reviewer promptly secretes Moleskine between thighs).

 

Matafeo has written extensively about modern romance already in the hit comedy Starstruck and here she addresses it again with a more candid, personal edge. She is not averse to writing notes herself but rather than do it in public she does it on her notes App. When she decided to print it out, however, she was horrified to see how long it was. Pages are strewn across the stage to indicate how busy she has been.

 

The title On and On and On is pretty apt as she reflects on relocating to London, having various relationships in her twenties which didn't quite pan out (one with a posh man that at least left her with plenty of comic material about English manners) and now examining what to do next. She is pretty clear that she doesn't want children having assesed the ups and downs. Will that change? It's not for me to speculate.

 

A recurring motif is her account of online therapy sessions. It offers plenty of comedy, even if it doesn't offer her a solution (it also reminded me of another comedian who had a stand-out routine about their therapy - he is an ex of Matafeo, you can google it yourself). There's a delicious pay-off to this strand too. 

 

I don't know how honest this show is, but I'm guessing there's a fair bit of truth here garnished with some self-deprecating comedic embellishment. And there's nothing wrong with that at all. Matafeo is a compelling stage presence, crackling and fizzing with energy. She is certainly a handful onstage, maybe she is a bit high maintenance in relationships, but again, I can't say. 

 

One thing is certain though. On and On and On might home in on her embarrassing romantic failures, but as a comedy show it is a bracingly funny success.