Zoe Lyons, Touring - midlife, without the crisis

Zoe Lyons knows her audience; as a few shoutouts confirmed, many of them are long-time fans, and have had lives with similar highs and lows along the way, and she delivers stories about her life that reflect theirs too. And so it proves with her latest touring show, Werewolf – which I saw in the cavernous surrounds of Earth Hackney – as she talks about finding contentment in middle age.

Lyons said that a while back she had sort of decided not to tour again, but she has a mortgage to pay, so here she is, and we’re glad she changed her mind. In her warm, conversational style, she declares straight away that she has entered the drawstring trousers phase of life, and gets a surprising amount of mileage out of mid-calf socks leaving an imprint. 

The blip in her decades-long relationship with her partner (their “gap year”) is mentioned but not mined – as she points out, many couples found Covid a trial – but what she describes as her underperforming career is. That’s not an entirely fair assessment, but typical of Lyons’ self-deprecating comedy.

One of Lyons' television gigs was taking part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins on Channel 4 – “The worst Center Parcs experience ever” – and if anyone was coming to hear her dish on Matt Hancock, they won’t be disappointed. Another chunk of the show is dedicated to the politics and the politesse of recycling bins – she is a Brighton resident, after all – in which she builds a tall but very funny tale about her neighbours’ behaviour.

Along the way she talks about having alopecia, bringing a parasite back home from a holiday, comics being diagnosed with ADHD – and an interesting use of her National Trust card.

There are some smart lines and well crafted callbacks, and Werewolf is an entertaining confection.

• Touring until 18 May
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