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Review: Sam Hickman: First Woman WIP (Museum of Comedy)

Review by Dan Sinclair


⭐️⭐️⭐️


As the Edinburgh Fringe rolls on this year, it takes with it 40% of my friends, most of my TikTok scrolling time as flyering this year seemingly moves onto t’internet, and the indigenous wildlife and grass of Arthur's Seat (an omen?) But London’s counter - its refuge for all those who are still financially recovering from the last time they visited - is the Camden Fringe. Across a series of venues, most not anywhere near Camden, we’ve got a bit of this, and also, a bit of that, and at the Museum of Comedy, we have a bit of Sam Hickman. After the rave success of her other show, Sexy Rude Harp Concert, I was treated to a work-in-progress of her new piece, First Woman.


First Woman is a wonderfully eclectic blend of theatre, a bit of stand-up, but also a play, but then a musical with a Victoria Wood tinge to it all. Sam Hickman takes us through her recent dating predicament, meeting the love of her life on Grindr, where she declares that she is the first woman (take a drink, said the name of the show) to discover this strange feeling known as love. It moves at the speed of light before we jump around in her personal life, her nephew smashing about with toy cars, kids eating ham, Tony Shalhoub in Monk, and then a new man enters the picture, another leaves, then both at the same time, then one, then none. It’s a proper kaleidoscope that refuses to be generic at any point. 


Photo by Rhian Dixon
Photo by Rhian Dixon

The centrepiece is undoubtedly Hickman’s musical ability, a master on the harp with a killer operatic voice. Musically, it’s a real treat for the ears. With original songs composed for First Woman, Hickman is an impressive singer/songwriter with a cheeky flair. Her self-designed costumes are extravagant, beautiful and surely belong on Liberace’s mantelpiece. Hickman knows her audience, and she knows her comedy. It’s crude, camp and proper nasty (and proper funny). But it is also much more than that, as her stylings are often billed, it’s completely off the wall, and random comments are thrown out in her storytime moments. Was it scripted down to the second, or was it the spirit of work-in-progress, throw some bizarre comments out and see what happens? Unsure, but those confusing one-liners had me chuckling away.


Whilst the gags rolled fast and filthy, I found myself wanting a bit more variety in the comedy. The sex humour in her original lyrics regularly returned to the same punchline: serious setup, emotional music, then say something shocking about semen or giving head. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all very funny, but it demonstrated the law of diminishing returns. It did, however, highlight how charming the more sincere moments were. Stories of childhood visits to the National Funeral Museum in Houston, the pressure to start a family, and a devout religious upbringing carried an emotional weight throughout the show. A standout song was a simple story about her use of humming as a child to keep her faith strong, a technique drilled into her as a child. It’s these glimmers that stick with you, as opposed to the sex jokes.


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It’s important to remember that this is a work in progress, and it’s easy to see the gem underneath this show. Lure them into the show with the promise of everything sexy and rude (and by them, meaning the cult queer harp-loving following Hickman has gathered), and then hit them with something much more challenging. The show makes moves towards that by the end as the relationship begins to unravel, but it never quite hits you in the chest, instead dancing around on the verge of heart. Does this mean diving into something autobiographical and painful? An abundance of articles out there about the dangers of self-exploitation would say perhaps not. Although I’m sure ‘Fleabag but queer and sexy with a harp: the musical’ would do numbers at Edinburgh.


A talented singer/songwriter, a charming storyteller and a hot mess, Sam Hickman is cutting moves on the Fringe scene, and whilst First Woman could do with some shaping up, she’s one to watch. Grab a few drinks, find her at a fringe festival and have a laugh.


First Woman (Work In Progress) ran at the Museum of Comedy on 13th August, next playing in Cardiff on September 4th.



More information: https://sam-hickman.com/ 

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