To some, Diane Spencer’s topics may be considered bad taste. However, I just found them hilarious.  If she says something quite outrageous, she showers the stage with a puff of glitter to keep the audience on her side.  A beautiful redhead with big eyes, she initially looks sweet and innocent – so when she opens the show talking about ‘female wanking’, you feel a little shocked.  As the show continues, you realise that she has taken you on an absorbing comedic journey, so that by the end you don’t feel shocked by anything that she says. 

Between every outrageous topic there are slightly more mellow stories about, for example, being ginger, things she has encountered in Australia, or how she managed to get chucked out of the sealife center.  My favourite stories of hers are about her ‘time jumping’ and the two sides to Diane: Drunk Diane and Sober Diane.  

I enjoyed her quirky, bold approach to comedy and I feel she is one of the few that can get away with being both dirty and funny, without being offensive. She’s in one of the smaller rooms at Gilded Balloon this year but I have no doubt she will be given one with a larger capacity next year.  

Diane Spencer: Exquisite Bad Taste

Guilded Balloon Teviot (Balcony)

Until 26 August, 17:00