The Very Best of the Edinburgh Festivals 2024
Review: Assembly Hall
Review: Orchestra of Sound
Review: After the Silence
Published 12 Aug 2010
39658 original
Considering how Celia Pacquola's show at last year's Fringe was an analysis of her break-up from a cheating ex, on paper Flying Solos seems to be her "I'm fine" moment. But rather than a sermon on the joys of singledom and an invitation to feel how firm her arse is, Flying Solos turns out to be an uplifting and exuberant show tracking Pacquola's quest to learn to play the piano solo from The Pointer Sisters' classic 'I'm So Excited'.
For those less inclined towards 80s pop, Pacquola's show also covers broader ground. Flying Solos is about the things you do alone and only alone – from masturbation to dying and all the food you eat off the floor in between. Pacquola confesses to high school humiliations, pig herding and finding a father figure in the electronic voice on the Facebook game Bejewelled ("Don't worry dad, Bejewelled is going to walk me down the aisle!").
Between these anecdotes come regular video updates of her progress on the piano, following the stock narrative of any underdog story. She passes through stages of optimism, disillusionment and despair – imagine Rocky but with an 80s mid-selling pop song to conquer, rather than the gigantic Apollo Creed.
Pacquola remains irrepressibly buoyant throughout, and so likeable that you want to laugh even at the jokes that don't quite flow. Flying Solos is a charming and life-affirming show – one you will leave feeling like you too could complete a pointless and time-consuming feat of niche talent, just to satisfy yourself.