Celia Pacquola is (quite literally) everywhere. Turn on the ABC and you’re highly likely to see her face either on Utopia, her own new show Rosehaven or in her AACTA-winning role in The Beautiful Lie. Having built a reputation in standup for the better part of a decade, it’s a natural progression for someone who’s affable down-to-earth humour is quite endearing.
Her latest show “The Looking Glass” is a 45-minute cross-section of the minutiae of single life. Forgetting her current success, Celia would like us to believe she’s still the same old Melbourne girl with the same old problems and damned if we don’t believe her. She cuts right to the chase declaring herself a happily single person and tears open the ideal of relationships equaling success in one’s 30s. From drinking alone and being a bookworm to online dating and sex toys, she paints a picture of one who’s happy in her own company, and is damned if anyone cares.
While she may have gotten off to a slightly slow start – the 530pm weekday times lot saw the crowd skew quite a lot older for a regular standup show – she broke the audience in comfortably and took everyone for a ride.
It will be interesting to watch her continuing ascendance both on screen and stage, as it’s quite obvious her success is only the tip of the iceberg.
The Looking Glass continues at the Sydney Festival until tomorrow. For tickets and details head here.
The reviewer attended the performance on 17th January 2017.
Photo: Jamie Williams
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