Tori Morancay’s debut solo show, Le French c’est Freak, dives into Frenchness, fiascos and bad decisions with bold, self-deprecating comedy. Raised in France and now based in New York, Tori unpacks cultural confusion and the chaos of chasing love and applause with an accent she has absolutely no intention of losing. Sharp, high-energy and unapologetically honest, this is billed as a feverish hour about identity, dating disasters and the glamour of falling apart.
Oh.
Not “oh dear.”
More “oh… this is rather different to what I expected.”
Going into Le French c’est Freak, I’d read the show’s description and expected cultural confusion to be at the heart of the hour. I had visions of translation difficulties, misunderstandings and the various mishaps of a French woman navigating life in New York.
That isn’t quite the show I got.
Instead, Tori spends considerably more time discussing her sexual exploits, relationships and desires. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I’m fairly open-minded, so the content itself didn’t particularly bother me. However, I can imagine an unsuspecting linguist wandering in expecting an hour about the complexities of French and American culture and leaving knowing considerably more about Tori’s anatomy than anticipated.
And I think that mismatch between expectation and reality is actually one of the biggest issues facing the production.
Tori is fearless when talking about sex. There isn’t much embarrassment here, and she doesn’t appear particularly interested in filtering herself to make an audience more comfortable. In the right environment, that confidence could be one of her greatest strengths.
There is also a section of the show that prospective audience members should be aware of. It surrounds abortion and, while the material is presented within a comedy show and clearly isn’t intended to cause distress, it could potentially be triggering for people who have experienced miscarriage, pregnancy loss or related circumstances.
At the time of writing, I couldn’t see an appropriate content warning on the Edinburgh Fringe listing. I think adding one would be sensible. It doesn’t mean the material needs removing; it simply allows people to make an informed decision before attending.
I’ve noticed that some other critics have panned this show, but I’m not convinced that the problem is Tori herself or that her comedy simply doesn’t work.
I think there’s a mismatch between performer, marketing and audience.
Put Tori into a comedy club approaching midnight, with an audience who know they’re about to hear frank, sexually explicit and occasionally taboo material, and I suspect she could absolutely shine. Her confidence and willingness to say things other performers might avoid would suddenly become an asset.
The audience I was sitting with, however, was especially mute.
They seemed quite introverted and reserved, and unfortunately Tori’s material simply wasn’t landing with them in the way I suspect it could with another crowd. There were jokes being delivered that deserved a bigger reaction than they received.
At times, I actually felt Tori deserved more from us.
Tori doesn’t really do crowd work, and of course she doesn’t have to – it’s her show and her chosen style of comedy. However, the downside is that she has very little opportunity to establish a rapport with the people sitting in front of her. When the audience isn’t immediately on the same wavelength as the performer, that connection becomes even more important.
A little interaction might have helped her understand the room and perhaps loosen everyone up before launching further into the more outrageous material.
There is something interesting about watching a comedian perform material that you can imagine absolutely destroying in one room while struggling in another. Comedy is particularly vulnerable to that. The exact same joke can receive silence at 5pm from one audience and enormous laughter at 11:30pm from another.
Context matters.
That’s why I wouldn’t suggest Tori sanitises the show or abandons what makes her distinctive. Quite the opposite. I think she needs to make it even clearer exactly what Le French c’est Freak is.
I’d change the marketing slightly and be much more upfront about the nature of the material. When Tori is speaking to potential audience members beforehand, tell them exactly what they’re getting: sex, dating, bad decisions and taboo subjects delivered by a French woman who isn’t particularly interested in behaving herself.
That way, the people walking through the door are much more likely to be Tori’s people.
There is definitely an audience for this show. The challenge is making sure that audience finds it.
I also think Tori herself has potential. There’s confidence there, there’s personality and there’s a willingness to tackle material other performers may shy away from. With further development, stronger audience rapport and marketing that better reflects what’s actually on stage, I can imagine her building a considerable following.
But ultimately, I have to review the performance I actually saw rather than the performance I can imagine happening with the perfect audience.
On this occasion, performer and audience never completely connected. There were good ideas and moments that deserved stronger reactions, but the room wasn’t quite travelling with Tori.
Le French c’est Freak isn’t necessarily a show that needs to become something completely different.
It needs to find its people.
★★★ 3 Stars but close to 4 stars
There is definitely an audience for Tori Morancay’s fearless comedy – the challenge is making sure that audience finds her.
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/tori-morancay-le-french-c-est-freak
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