Lou Sanders, Soho Theatre review - feminism and dodgy massages

Lou Sanders has named her latest show (which debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe) Say Hello to Your New Step-Mummy. But, as she tells us in her opening comments, she's not a mother or stepmother, and hasn't yet met a father she likes, but “by the end of the year, God willing…”

Much of the show is taken up with Sanders describing the whys and wherefores of her 12th-month “man ban” – something suggested by her healer Jill in the Pyrenees, who does her healing via Skype, and told her she needs to “reset her patterns”.

This state of affairs was in some part prompted by trolling that Sanders received after winning Taskmaster, a sort of It's a Knockout for comics, where some online comments said that Sanders talked too much about her labia. Well, good feminist that Sanders is, this means more talk in her live show about her labia.

That leads to broader reflections on how she thinks about her body, and the conflict for her – and many other women – between owning her body and wanting to be viewed by men as desirable. As ever with Sanders, any seriousness is undercut by her ironic self-delusion, or a neatly subversive comment. “I lost two stone,” she tells us. “On Photohop.” She says we won't necessarily like her or some of what she has to say, but Sanders delivers her material with such charm and confidence that we are happy to go along for the ride.

She talks about her family (a rich source of material), dodgy massages, and of her past penchant for younger men. She knew it had to end when one asked for a “choccy milkshake” on a date...

At 50 minutes, the show is over before it feels as if Sanders has got into her stride with her scattergun material. But she's genial company and there are some big laughs along the way.

• Lou Sanders is at Soho Theatre, London until 19 November

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