By Carissa Shale
Zoë Coombs-Marr’s certainly has bold ambitions when she attempts to cover every single thing in her whole entire life. While she doesn’t quite have the time to cover everything, what she does cover, certainly does not disappoint.
Promised to be a ‘tell all, all warts, personal storytelling comedy show’, Coombs-Marr’s performance is a captivating and self-deprecating insight into the many embarrassing yet hilarious highlights of her life. For the organised amongst us, the show also happens to be a spreadsheet lovers paradise, which is not something you would often read in a comedy review.
Coombs-Marr uses a spreadsheet containing all the important memories of her life as the roadmap for the show. This isn’t just any spreadsheet either. It’s organised into a range of different tables, some in chronological order, some in themes, connected through an intricate array of hyperlinks, all of which lead to comedy gold. Nothing is off limits, with everything covered from relationships to a variety of bodily functions, frogs in toilets, and even sandwiches. As Coombs-Marr admits, not everything in life can be golden, with some more sensitive themes raised that hint towards the conception of the show and bring a slice of hard-hitting reality to the forefront.
While much of the show is highly organised, expertly planned and scripted, Coombs Marr assures the audience that each performance is different, as they are called on now and then to guide the exploration down the complex rabbit hole that is her spreadsheet. The chaotic and sporadic nature of the performance certainly gives the impression that parts of show could in fact be completely different every night. I know I left thinking, what on earth could have possibly been uncovered had we delved deeper into the sandwiches tab?
While the performance itself was fabulous, on occasion, some technical difficulties let Coombs-Marr down. For those seated towards the front of the venue, it was exciting to interact with the show as she flicked between the tabs of her spreadsheet on the big screen. However, for those seated towards the back, the text was extremely small, making it difficult to fully engage. Meanwhile, towards the end of production, the volume of the backing track was far too loud, drowning out the final jokes of the show.
Every Single Thing In My Whole Entire Life is the kind of show that will appeal to a large range of comedy lovers. Whether you enjoy dark humour, situational comedy, downright silly comedy, or even puns, Coombs-Marr appeals to a wide audience through her relatable antics and endearing delivery. Most importantly, you might even pick up a tip or two to help you finesse your next spreadsheet.
