I try, to the very best of my abilities, to keep my friends away from people who are funnier than me. So they were surprised when I told them they 'absolutely had to see this woman- Rachel Parris'.
(copyright-Idil Sukan) I was surprised too- but them not having seen her was becoming irritating, because I wanted to discuss her act with them and they kept staring at me blankly. 'I think my favourite song is 'When I am 30', I told them helpfully. i began to hum it. Unfortunately I couldn't remember any of the words, precisely, or the exact tune. 'Why are you singing 'Happy Birthday' to us?' My friend asked confusedly.
'Fine,' I said, exasperatedly. 'You can go see her. I suppose. If you must.' Oddly, given this warm and generous encouragement, none of my friends seemed very keen. 'Why should we go see Rachel Parris?' They asked me. I took a deep breath. 'OK,' I began slowly. 'I never do this, and I will rarely do it again, but you should see Rachel Parris because she's funnier than me. And more talented. And has longer hair, but I've decided to grow mine now, so that might not always be the case.
(copyright-Idil Sukan)
She does this show, and it's her, being annoyingly pretty, and her keyboard. And she makes up these fantastic, hilarious songs. And you end up sushing other audience members because you can't hear her brilliant lyrics over their inconvenient laughter. And she sings songs she's already written, and then she makes up new songs based on the audience members, and she's just impossibly, infuriatingly good.'
'Oh,' They replied. 'Yes, we'd very much like to see that. She sounds brilliant.' She is, and (through gritted teeth), here are the places you can see her:
For upcoming comedy gigs: www.rachelparris.com
Edinburgh shows: Parris & Dowler: Know What They're Doing (3.10pm, The Three Sisters) www.parrisanddowler.com
Austentatious: An Improvised Novel (1.30pm, The Counting House) www.austentatiousimpro.com
Monkey Toast (11.05pm, Pleasance Courtyard)
And, because you might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb, here are a list of the awards she's won:
runner up - Musical Comedy Awards 2012
Finalist - Hackney Empire New Act Of The Year 2011
Finalist - Leicester Square Comedian of The Year
runner up - Funny Women Awards 2010