With perhaps the cleverest title of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, Jamie Finn brings his solo show Nobody’s Talking About Jamie to the Underbelly Cowgate for an hour of effortless comedic storytelling.
Jamie Finn is telling his own story, how much of it is actually true is left up to the audience to decide. But it really doesn’t matter because this is an easy to enjoy story told by a very likeable performer. We start off with a comedy song, the first of many, as Jamie celebrates New Year’s Eve 2015, and laments his break-up with Cordelia, his first, and only, girlfriend.
Her new beau is a beefed up version of Jamie, showing off his muscles in every Instagram post. Determined to reinvent himself, Jamie moves in with Lily, a woman who will become his best friend, call him Princess Diana, and open doors for him that he could never have dreamed possible.
Lilly is also a Spin instructor, so Jamie, clad in fluorescent shorts, tells parts of the story from the onstage Spin bike, bringing as much energy to the cycling as he does to the rest of his performance. Finn has a very charming self-depreciating manner to his brand of storytelling; it’s very easy to cheer on the protagonist in Nobody’s Talking About Jamie.
The music elements of the show are just as strong, despite Finn’s claims that he lacks talent. The songs are well-written and bursting with clever one-liners that has the audience in hysterics. The main narrative layers up beautifully and also delivers on the comedy front.
Finn brings a new twist to a familiar tale, while it’s the break up from his girlfriend that gets the early attention, the real story here is about what happens when you lose a friend. The feelings and emotions can be just as strong, if not stronger, but we rarely give these break-up’s the same kind of attention.
Nobody’s Talking About Jamie is a fantastically constructed hour of comedy and storytelling, led by a superb performer who knows how to work the audience. Perhaps not everybody will be talking about Jamie, but anyone who is lucky enough to catch his show most certainly will be.
