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How’d Sydnee Washington get from awkward kid raised by her strict Christian elders in Oakland to VIP bottle girl in Manhattan nightclubs to sober stand-up comedian?
That’s what this hour is, illustrated with many funny visuals and an energetic storyteller in Washington, who tells us she’s sitting down not to take it easy, but so we can all see the screen behind her and she can control the keyboard better. “We gotta lock in! I’m telling my story.”
The UK crowd might not fully get every single musical reference Washington drops or can identify with her childhood, but that’s not essential because Washington’s joyousness carries everyone along throughout her narrative arc. Everyone knows what it feels like to be awkward trying to make new friends. Everyone has made some questionable decisions in their early 20s.
Washington may joke that after a decade of working in nightclubs, “I have nothing to show for it except this Canva document.” But it’s a very funny document, and well told.
Sydnee Washington: My Black Barbie Story plays Cabaret Voltaire 1 at Monkey Barrel during the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe.
