by **** (out of 5)
You can reframe history or your life to boost your self-esteem, and especially for the sake of comedy. Olga Koch is not only interested in that aspect of her life at age 30, but also how parasocial relationships have become entirely too commonplace now.
Especially the parasocial relationships in her life, which can go both ways. So to speak. There are the reply guys or the men in her DMs any time she appears on TV during a panel show. There are her two siblings, one each at least a decade apart making them three “insufferable only children.” There’s Magic Mike Live in Leicester Square. And there’s the guy she hooked up with at a wedding in New Zealand. It’s the latter that preoccupies her most, because of how deep she feel into a parasocial hole. Partly because she’s “horny for admin and admin for horny.”
Koch’s set features bonus commentary, via voice memos she has left for herself to revisit during the show. They all add something to the story. But there also was an impromptu moment one show, where Koch felt compelled to stop to address an audience member in front of her. “You’re not laughing but you are rooting for me, which honestly is more important.”
Most of us are rooting for Koch and also laughing along with her, which honestly, is even better.
Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail runs through Aug. 27 at Monkey Barrel 1
