Words: Elodie Marriott 
Image: Raphael Neal

4 stars 

Helen Bauer enters the stage shouting. 

Following shyly behind her is her eight-year-old self, here at the request of a therapist. Initially we can’t see her, but as the set progresses and we learn more about the relationship between the two selves, the more we’re able to perceive her. Also, as a firm believer in ghosts, Bauer’s pretty insistent about us acknowledging her presence. 

Punctuating her jokes with a grimace or guttural “yuh”, Bauer is a capital P Performer. She encourages the audience to “gather, gather, gather” and beckons us closer to share unique anecdotes about her childhood, the origins of her binge eating disorder, and how tall people are the best conversationalists: they’re always in the front of taxis so they get a lot of practice. 

Bless Her is a winning combination of touching, honest, and really entertaining. Her proposal for a secret global alliance between big women and short men, regardless of how “demented” it would look, is a quintessential example of Bauer-vision and the accompanying physical comedy is side-splitting. With high energy and wild enthusiasm, she draws on her love for history by likening her intrusive thoughts to Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison. 

Leave it to Bauer to top such a eccentric entrance. She exits the stage screaming. 

Helen Bauer: Bless Her
Monkey Barrell Comedy
Various times
22- 24 Aug