Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 – Ania Magliano: Forgive Me, Father

By Dominic Corr on August 26, 2024

Review by Greta Abbey

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Ania Magliano's hour of flawless stand-up is a masterclass in balancing intelligent storytelling and laugh-so-hard-you-pee-your-pants-comedy. Magliano gives equal weight to moments of comedic hilarity and the more touching, emotive aspects of her stand-up hour. A particularly hilarious bit about an industrial vibrator stands out, ending with the audience being asked if we are ready to "meet God." Though Magliano is referring to meeting God through the use of a vibrator that must be plugged in with an extension cord, the real Heavenly presence we are meeting here is Magliano's talent for storytelling and near-perfect comedic timing.

Magliano expertly weaves her feelings towards her parents' divorce and her relationship with her father throughout a wider narrative storyline of her need to have her birth control implant removed. She blames her implant for her fights with her boyfriend rather than blaming what her boyfriend believes is a natural adjustment period for her as she grapples with opening up aspects of her life to him. To agree with his slightly more logical reasoning would be to accept his opinion, and she cannot do that, not until she adopts his opinion and claims it as her own (which she does towards the end of the hour, in a brilliant and seamless callback to an early segment of the show). Magliano's use of callback in this segment, and every segment, is effortless, making the full hour a cyclical and beautiful piece that is thrilling to watch as the audience connects each dot, each perfectly planted anecdote, with her.

It is easy to see why Magliano's run sold out completely this summer and previous summers, and why she captivates audiences every time she comes to the Fringe, keeping them completely on her side. This is even when calling attention to her flaws, which she does throughout the show. She is too funny and too clever and too good at what she does not to root for wholeheartedly.

Masterclass in Storytelling and Comedy

Ania Magliano: Forgive Me, Father ran at the Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh
Running Time: Sixty minutes without interval

Review by Greta Abbey (contact@corrblimey.uk)

Greta recently graduated with a degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Edinburgh, where she spent a large majority of her time doing all things theatre, including acting, choreographing, and writing, as well as less artistic tasks such as delegating and bossing people around as the President of Shakespeare Society. Greta is deeply passionate about the performing arts, having trained as a professional ballet dancer with the Joffrey Ballet and studied acting and improv at Second City Chicago prior to attending university. She will continue her studies at LAMDA, where she is pursuing an MFA in professional acting.