What Would Beyonce Do? at the Black Lion

With the sheer volume of free shows at the Edinburgh Fringe these days it can be tricky to sift through and find a gem. But every year there are one or two that a week or so into the Fringe you start to hear a buzz about. Then, being free, there’s a scrum to get into a sweaty room above a bar to see the show. This August it was Luisa Omielan’s What Would Beyonce Do? The show features confessional stand up about Omielan’s life as a mum living with her own mum. But it’s a life filtered through the mantra What Would Beyonce Do? and Omeilan punctuates her raw and off-the-wall delivery with energetic and enthusiastic dance routines. It wasn’t just the Edinburgh punters that liked the show – critics agreed too, and soon her posters were garnering four and five stars. Now Salford (and Manchester), it’s time to find out what the fuss was about.

Wed 12 Dec, The Black Lion, 65 Chapel Street, Salford, M3 5HW, Tel: 0161 839 9882, 7.30pm, £7 (£5 conc), blacklionsalford.tumblr.com, @luisaomielan