Latest news with #JessicaBarton
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Dirty Work review – a jolly holiday with Mary Floppins
We've all felt the urge to impose order on the mess of our lives, whether that mess is literal or emotional. It's both in Jessica Barton's new clown show, which won her the best newcomer gong at Melbourne's comedy festival. Dirty Work finds Barton in bonneted and buttoned-down guise as Mary Floppins, here to tutor us in tidiness – and sweep away her own demons to boot. If her near-namesake could put a room to rights with just a snap of her fingers and a catchy song, Barton does so, be warned, with the participation of her audience. Specifically men, who are most in need of her housework advice. This is one of those shows, then, that derives its comic charge from putting members of the public through their paces on stage. It's one of those shows, too – there are many under the clown banner – where repetition and doe-eyed charm are deployed to pad out simple visual routines to the brink of their natural lifespan. But at least Barton has that charm in spades, and a fine disciplinarian line too, that can keep an errant volunteer in line with just a peremptory flash of the eyes. And so her stooges ascend the stage to fold bedsheets with her, separate clean and filthy linen, and perform a dance derived from routine domestic chores. There's a singalong skit too, in which Barton shows off her Julie Andrews-alike pipes. Presently, a strand is introduced into Dirty Work suggesting that our host's mania for neatness is linked to a bad breakup, of the kind that might lead you to, say, hurl your partner's possessions out of the house and into chaotic disarray on the street. In an entirely silent show, this hinterland is glimpsed but not explored on an upstage screen, while back in the here and now, we're left watching two volunteers laboriously tidy Barton's stage. At such moments, it can feel like the show's ideas have been stretched fairly thinly to fill this fringe hour. But no denying that, as host and performer of this paean to pristine, Barton brings a befitting sparkle and shine. At Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh, until 24 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Southern Wit: Song parody competition finals coming to SUSLA on Feb. 4
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The finalists of a competition that rewards witty, Southern song parodies will perform live in Shreveport on Feb. 4. The Southern Wit Song Parody Competition finals will take place in the Jackson Auditorium at Southern University Shreveport. The competition showcases vocalists, performers, and lyricists of all ages. The first-place winner will receive $1000, the second-place winner will receive $500, and the third-place runner-up will receive $250. An example of a witty song parody is changing Mary J. Blige's 'I'm Goin' Down' to 'I'm Dating a Clown.' Jessica Barton is a member of Phi Theta Kappa. She said the competition is a chance to celebrate creativity and self-expression. 'It's a chance for people to express their unique ideas and have fun,' said Barton. Judges include radio personality Nina Montgomery, singer Renee 'Sweet Nay' Caldwell, and Sonya Hester, SUSLA associate professor. The event will be hosted by SUSLA's Shannon Levingston, also known as DJ Mercedes. Southern Wit is a collaboration between the Beta Beta Nu chapter of Phi Theta Kappa honor society and HARK, a nonprofit that celebrates ArkLaTex history and heritage. Southern Wit is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Louisiana, and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Admission to the event is free. To learn more about Southern Wit, email info@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
