Samantha Pressdee: Sextremist

Beginning her show with a strip tease and concluding it with a pole dance, Samantha Pressdee certainly isn't one to rely on a misleading title. Unfortunately, beyond the overt sexuality that's promised and delivered, there isn't much to offer in the way of comedy here. 

Pressdee stands topless on stage for the entirety of the show, explaining that she's an advocate for the 'Free the Nipple' campaign. It's one facet of her politically-charged nature, as she rails against what she sees as a patriarchy that objectifies women's bodies. It's a fair stance to take, but the problem is that any gravity to her argument is undermined by the infantile way in which she presents herself. Nothing about her aesthetic or child-like delivery lends any credence to the worthy cause she's pursuing. It's a bit like if Tumblr came to life and did standup. 

Substantively speaking there's not much to go by, other than an autobiographical whirl through her list of past boyfriends. The crowd (with whom she fosters virtually no rapport) is small, and subsequently the responses are even weaker. It's a shame because she's got interesting things to say but it's all lost in a muddled routine with very little flair for jokes. You might buy into her liberation movement, but it's hard to buy into her act.

She seems to conflate impassioned statements of belief with political satire – both have their place in comedy, but the balance is all wrong here.