'Grandmother's daughter' review: Hilarious storytelling by a charming new comic

IF great stand-up stars mine comedy gold from their own lives, then Priya Hall has a treasure trove of sparkling gems to choose from.

Whether it is being born into a mixed heritage family, coming out as queer, quitting her job to pursue a comedy career, dumping her long-term boyfriend to get into a lesbian relationship and trying for a baby, Hall knits all the various threads from her action-packed life into an entertaining show.

The half-Indian and half-Welsh comic delivered this unique stand-up show at Soho Theatre in London recently. She spoke openly about a rebellious drug-taking grandmother, how her parents met, being a ‘devil child’ and eventually coming out as queer.

The gifted talent went into detail about her relationship with someone she describes as a ‘tiny lesbian’ and their pursuit of trying to have a baby together. It included their very expensive sperm donation journey, which combined hilarity with insightful moments.

Hall also spoke at length about her family, including a grandfather who loved The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air and thought it was called the prince of fresh air. Her great stage presence ensured that the free-flowing set had engaging moments from start to finish. Even when bits didn’t quite work, her likeable persona made the stories engrossing.

While there were moments when Hall engaged with the audience, she didn’t exploit it fully, leading to missed opportunities to elevate the show. This included not focusing enough on her grandmother and how her life had influenced Hall.

That didn’t stop Grandmother’s Daughter from being a great first full length show from an exciting new talent, who will only get better. Hall will certainly make her rebellious grandmother proud.