Lou Sanders’ ‘Shame Pig’ provided for a great evening jam-packed with Lou’s proud recollections of self-humiliating stories, crude gags and profound wisdom provided by an insight into the chaotic lifestyle of a comedian which concluded with an inspiring quote: “pre-cum is real” – a motto frequently revisited throughout the night. This show was not only a stand-up routine but a valuable life lesson, and we have Lou Sanders to thank for that.
On entrance, the empty stage set the mood with colourful mood lighting, funky music and a bowl of plastic brains on the table. Each brain contained a shameful moment of Lou’s life that she was now proud to own while she sang along to destiny’s child’s ‘say my name’ which she had cleverly changed the lyrics to ‘say my shame.’ The ‘shame-brains’ gave the show a new and quirky edge and provided for a well-rounded structure which allowed room to adapt to the audience member’s vibes, which Sanders did very well.
If you don’t like crude, up to the line jokes and get easily offended, then Lou Sanders isn’t for you – although you should probably sort that out because they are the best ones! The first part of the show kicked off with a whole bunch of genital jokes – the perfect way to figure out what kind of audience you are standing in front of, something that I admired her for. It takes a lot of courage to stand in front of a room of strangers who are still working you out and bare all, but her unapologetic, hilarious, feminist attitude was refreshing to watch, and she excellently owned the space and her sexuality without preaching. She even decided that it was time for us to give a proper name to a vagina that wasn’t “dumbed down” and made to sound pretty and she decided on ‘Carol’ – to an audience member’s dismay whose aunt shared the same name!
An excellent quality in Lou was her ability to laugh at herself and her life’s mishaps. One particularly hilarious re-telling was one of her festival experiences which ended in being carried off stage and vomiting all over her friends – we’ve all been there! Lou maintained a fun and relaxed vibe throughout as well as touching on harder hitting subjects and personal struggles with alcoholism all of which she shrugged off saying “if you can’t laugh about it, you’re part of the problem.”
I thoroughly enjoyed a well-needed break from revision and Lou Sanders’ energetic, fleabag-esque performance was perfect and something I would love to see again! The show gave a great overall message: to conquer our shameful experiences; we should own them – something that stuck with me. Although she is for the moment relatively unheard of, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lou Sanders up there with the big names of comedy soon! If you get a chance go and watch Lou on tour, she still has some dates left!
You can catch other live comedy at The Dukes, for full listings visit www.dukes-lancaster.org
