Review: Pam Ann

Welcome aboard Pam Ann Flight 269 to Paradise…

… and in the words of our air hostess for the evening… FUCK OFF!

by Dave Ross

Pam Ann is the alter ego of Aussie comedienne Caroline Reid, a raunchy, bitchy air hostess extraordinaire. In her one-woman show, Pam tackles all the myths and stories of air travel from her viewpoint in the galley, hilariously portraying almost every stereotype there is. Throughout the course of the evening she adopts several different uniforms to serve her “passengers” in different manners. Pan Am Pam Ann (there’s a running joke here) opens the night with a series of cleverly edited sequences from the television show Pan Am. Later in the show, she turns into a first-class flight attendant, before morphing into a Gloria Gaynor-esque pride queen for her final schtick. 

Reviewing stand up is difficult. As any good comedienne should do, she keeps her material topical and local—she mocks the audience, mocks every airline under the sun, and throws in a few racial stereotypes as well—all to hilarious effect. One of her smaller characters (a rice-picker in the fields of Singapore—don’t ask, just go see the show) is so funny for all the right uncomfortable reasons. Her campy portrayal of the attitudes of various airlines is spot on, capitalizing on their reputations. She has the audience eating out of her hand, and nothing is sacred—your handbag, your employer (if you work in the airline industry), or your sexual orientation. Pam’s got a comment ready to go at the drop of a hat. 

Pam Ann is a bitchy, gay-loving fag hag who isn’t afraid to ask members of the audience if they’re in an open relationship, glitter bomb the front row, lob cupcakes and pineapples into the middle of the crowd, or comment on how much her gay flight attendants get fucked. The audience (which had to be 98.8% homosexual or ally) loved her. Some of her jokes were a bit off-colour (it is perhaps too soon for Magnotta body-part jokes), and her energy appeared to flag a bit as the show progressed, but the pacing demands high energy that almost anyone would have trouble sustaining. Pam, she keeps flying high. The show isn’t going to change your life, but you are going to leave having a busted a gut or two. You may even be covered in glitter.

Thank you for flying Pam Ann, and have a safe onward journey, bitches!

Running at the Panasonic Theatre until June 23. Tickets at www.mirvish.com