Esther Manito - Slagbomb
Frankly, I was not the target audience for this show, but I still laughed so hard my chest hurt
Photo: Steve Best
It's been a while, but the universe decided it was time for me to don the reviewing gloves once again! The title of ‘Slagbomb’ immediately made me want to see the show, along with the description of it being about 'the sheer joy of having absolutely no dignity'...I was sold!
(For context, a 'Slagbomb', described by a barmaid in Skegness to Manito, is Jägermeister, WKD and a splash of Irn Bru. Tasty.)
Rebecca How opened the show with a short yet sweet insight into her current dating life, prompting her to then ask about married couples in the audience - how one couple replied to her question of how they met set the crowd off completely, and it was a hilarious start to the evening.
After a brief interval, Esther Manito graced the stage! Frankly, I was not the target audience for this show, but I still laughed so hard my chest hurt - Manito recalled her jokes with such heart and humour that it was genuinely hard to hold back a grin throughout the entire thing. Going from topics such as raising kids in the modern day to how the female body is viewed in a not-so-post-Heat-and-Closer-mag world couldn't have been done with a wittier lens. Even the inclusion of more serious topics of having relatives in Lebanon or dealing with cancer in the family were touched upon in a sensitive but brilliant way.
There were also many clever callbacks to earlier parts of the show (Crocs and sanitary pads to name a couple), which were well woven into the flow of the show. It was so well structured that there was never an awkward pause or dull part - I was thoroughly entertained and uplifted. I love comedy that's open, honest and unfiltered without being harmful, and Manito delivered that. It was a hilarious and sometimes ridiculous reminder to embrace the mess of our lives and the later 'sandwich years'. It also gave me a reminder that I should book myself a holiday soon... maybe a Slagbomb or two would be quite nice...
Slagbomb is on tour throughout the rest of 2025 and start of 2026, following Norwich with three dates at Soho Theatre in London
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