Alice Tovey: Not Like The Other Ghouls

Alice Tovey: Not Like The Other Ghouls - the rock star goddess punches out her eclectic exorcisms of what it means to love the horror genre. A ghoulish show, residing in the Palace of Frankenstein where sketchy bits and pieces are stitched together into a full hour of comedy-cabaret.

Tovey, a spectacle in her own right, struts out wearing chunky heels and a black Tutu- embellishing Scream masks. This is more than a piss-take on her favourite genre and all the horror movies she can spout out in an hour. It is her personal reality check, her fear of turning thirty while recalling her younger teenage self’s love of all thing’s horror. Between spoiler alerts, whilst unravelling scary movie plots, Tovey cracks nuts on Glee - a ground-breaking ever-popular yet notorious (clouted as a) Generation Z sit-com show and Twilight Saga and all while MCing - introducing local comedy acts that do not exist.

A sharp performer, Tovey reaches out to everyone with her cutesy yet farcical “Betty Boop” manner, scans her audience eager to please, improvised tactics on hand, delivers jokes from the left to the right and hones it all back to the wonders of the horror genre. Her voice is magical, and her songs are her own - she belts out her tunes with gusto and l think she could head her own rock band.

As a feminist she is bold, confronting, and true; it is a revelation to myself that her pronouncements of the Slut Era and Rape culture are hanging on strongly in our post #MeToo world. When she feels like a Frankenstein - and is there a day in her life when she doesn’t feel completely hideous and when she is afraid that men hate her and they want her dead - she can curl up into herself and fell anxiety and fear. And while claiming Nicole Kidman is just a void (recordings of softly spoken Nicole can be heard) all while the ghosts of celebrities are lurking around. Alice Tovey is somewhat of closet intellectual, and her show is a black comedy of horrors.

Her set is a round projection screen that mimics a large, bevelled mirror with a bunch of edited horror movies and some hallucinating funky colours that compliment her act.

Alice Tovey is a force to be reckoned with, her show is enlightening, funny and unique.

Flora Georgiou

BUY TICKETS TO THE COMEDY FESTIVAL HERE.

Photographer: Michael Oulton