Cecily Hitchcock: Family Recipe, Cellar at Pleasance Courtyard Review
Growing up in a 1990s ‘new town’ named Cambourne in Cambridgeshire, Cecily Hitchcock makes no attempt to hide that she was an unconventional child or, rather, a weird one. In a jam-packed hour of nostalgic anecdotes, Hitchcock’s debut hour at the Fringe journeys through niche childhood obsessions and strange family dinner staples, igniting an electric whirlwind of oddball British comedy.
Confidence in her adolescent strangeness is Hitchcock's comedic compass; timely placed exclamations that she was an oddball keeps her audience constantly guessing what story she’ll then pull out of the bag. Her crowd-work in a dry, awkward manner mirrors her eccentric comedy, adding to an effective structure which allows her unique stories to be neatly placed within the hour.
The titular segment of the set in which she relays her family’s commitment to 1970s recipes — notably, bananas and ham (yes, really) — is a masterclass in anecdotal comedy. Hitchcock’s depiction of her mother (a nonsmoker) as a Dot Cotton, middle-class guru hybrid is the kind of weird and wonderful gags that Hitchcock churns out to no end. The weirdness doesn’t stop there either — a Tony Blair & Gordon Brown power-ballad and a bananas & ham dramatic duologue with an audience member, equally amps up the ridiculousness.
Hitchcock’s infectious personality shines throughout her set; in her candid reflection of someone who struggled to fit in growing up in 2000s Britain, she interweaves a touching and relatable undercurrent to her idiosyncrasy. Enter this unique noughties rabbit hole as a stranger and leave as a close personal friend.
Runs until the end of the Fringe (30 August) at Cellar, Pleasance Courtyard.
★★★★
Written by David for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
