Comedian Sam Nicoresti Wins Edinburgh Comedy Award with “Baby Doomer”
Sam Nicoresti’s stand-up show, Baby Doomer, has been awarded this year’s Edinburgh Comedy Award, praised for its skillful blend of humor and vulnerability as it tackles complex themes. The show explores Nicoresti’s experiences as a trans woman, alongside discussions of autism, a personal breakdown, and PTSD, all delivered with a self-deprecating style.
A review highlights the show’s ability to draw audiences into Nicoresti’s world, marked by both joyful and awkward moments. A key line from the performance, “I feel like I suck at being a woman,” exemplifies the show’s honest and relatable approach.
Nicoresti adeptly addresses the frustrations of feeling like an imposter and the preconceptions surrounding trans women, even incorporating “dirty gags” that playfully confront anxieties about shared spaces like women’s changing rooms. The comedian also contemplates the nature of being transgender – whether it’s a process or a fixed state – and weaves in her passion for the Lord of the Rings and her relationship with her “green-haired girlfriend.”
The performance is characterized by a rapid-fire delivery of jokes and a willingness to shift from lighthearted topics, like pets, to more serious personal experiences, such as a story about considering sperm donation before starting hormone therapy and ultimately choosing a vacation instead – a decision reflected in the show’s title. A particularly striking comparison made during the show was, “Talking on stage about your mental health is like complaining about the legroom on the OceanGate submersible.”
Baby Doomer will be performed at the Soho Theater in London from September 4th to 6th. (https://sohotheatre.com/events/sam-nicoresti-baby-doomer/)
In other award news, Ayoade Bamgboye won the award for best newcomer for Swings and Roundabouts, a show praised for its distinctive writing and charismatic performance, though the review noted a slight frustration with the deliberate pacing of the material.The Victoria Wood prize for the “spirit of the Fringe” was awarded to Comedy Club 4 Kids.
