Daughter of actor Tom Conti, Nina Conti is a hilarious stage ventriloquist who has shot to fame with her clever face masks which are strapped to audience members faces and manipulated using a rubber tube held in her hand. She talks for the audience members without moving her lips and improvises embarrassing stories and anecdotes for them.
Nina has been acting since 2006 but it has only been the past ten years or so that she has begun comedy and the infamous ‘Monkey’ and ‘Granny’ puppets she has become known for.
Having seen Nina Conti on television shows before, I knew I had to go and see her at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. However, I wasn’t sure how funny the act I had seen on TV for five minutes at a time could be for a whole hour long show. I needn’t have worried as by the time the show was after I was begging for more. The hilarious thing about Nina is that she seems to find herself as hilarious as everyone else does. Not in a narcissistic sense but its as though she is sitting in the audience watching the show herself and she doesn’t even realise the words that are coming out of her mouth. She reacts brilliantly which helps to give to illusion that the audience members are really talking and not her.
It’s hard to explain this improvised comedy show as it is different every night but I strongly urge you to look Nina up on YouTube if you aren’t familiar with her and then book to see her next available show. You will be crying with laughter by the time she has finished.
Reviewed by West End Wilma
Photo: Matt Crockett
Nina Conti is playing a sold out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival but you can catch her on tour around the UK for the rest of this year. Take a look at all the tour dates here