Sara Pascoe's life has changed dramatically since she last toured. She now has two children and, as she explains, tends to spend most of her time offstage wiping up vomit and snot and avoiding her husband's enormous trip hazard shoes. A theme is that motherhood and marriage is not quite the fun she hoped it would be.
There are two sides to this show. On the one hand there are everyperson observational jokes about inefficient hotel toasters and sex in one's forties – her spouse's seduction technique is "like an unconfident pitch on Dragon's Den" – but just as you think this is getting a little too predictable she will mention carbon emissions or writer Albert Camus.
The tour is called I Am A Strange Gloop, a twist on a book by philosopher Douglas Hofstadter, I Am A Strange Loop. Pascoe feels as if post-parenthood she doesn't know who she is any more. She might be 44, but psychologically she feels like she is 12.
Her skill is mixing gags about the mundane with existential angst. The onstage backdrop is a figure pushing a giant ball made up socks, shirts and sundry laundry items up a hill. It's a cross between the Myth of Sisyphus, perpetually heaving a boulder, and the notion that a mother's work never ends. Peppa Pig, she suggests, is the only example of a successful nuclear family.
The relatable humour is given a distinctive twist. On the subject of growing old she has recently heard about the idea that stitching two mice together might slow the ageing process. She wonders if stitching grans to their grandchildren might have a similar effect.
As for her showbiz side, there is a smattering of mildly juicy gossip. Pascoe was one of the comedians in the recent megahit Last One Laughing, though if you blinked you may have missed her. Despite being told that the only rule was that you must not laugh she giggled immediately and was evicted.
If the first half feels a little underpowered at times, things make more sense after the interval as subjects that have been seeded blossom as she deep dives into her own psyche. A stand-out story is her tale of pursuing Robbie Williams. Her mother had pursued her father when he was in a band, so teenage Sara thought that was the way to bag a boyfriend. Needless to say, the plan didn't pan out.
Elsewhere she harks back to her previous enquiring shows which explored science and politics. She touches on AI and wonders if capitalism is working. But most of all she questions where her self is. Is she her body? Or trapped inside her skin looking out? Is she just a gas? And why is she obsessed with Gwyneth Paltrow?
I Am A Strange Gloop takes a while to hit its stride, but what it lacks in dynamism it more than makes up for in probing intelligence. Pascoe might joke that her brain has turned to mush since motherhood but onstage she is as sharp as a well-polished pin.
Palladium, March 1, 2026 and touring. Tickets and information here: sarapascoe.co.uk/sara-on-tour
