Journalist Ange Lavoipierre has spent most of her career in the search of truth, filing reports for ABC’s AM, PM, 'The World Today' and Triple J’s 'Hack'. Her choice of profession makes sense, given her experiences in childhood, which the fledgling stand-up comedian explores in her debut full-length show, 'Zealot'.
The first story that Ange broke, after conducting a series of doorstop interrogations with her parents, was known as SantaGate. It was her experiences at age 10 with the followers of another bearded miracle worker, Jesus Christ, though, that definitively shattered her faith in those in positions of power.
Ange’s childhood story, which she reveals in 'Zealot', is no laughing matter, yet she manages to make her audience do just that, which is a notable achievement for someone who only began her stand-up career in 2018.
That she did so while spending most of the show in a two-piece black bathing suit, while simultaneously weaving a narrative using quirky impersonations, demonstrates why she garnered a weekly Adelaide Fringe comedy award last year.
With her cheeky and toothy smile and deadpan wit, Ange has a knack for comedy, but, as is to be expected at this stage of her career, she doesn’t land every joke and she does still rely on a prompt sheet stuck to the stage floor. Her style, though, is so refreshingly original that, with time on the circuit, she will undoubtedly be as successful in this pursuit as she has been on the radio.
The bones of a comedic career are there, and a bright future is on the cards for Ange Lavoipierre.
★★★☆☆ 1/2
