Writer: Maeve Press
Maeve Press is an American actor, comedian, and writer, returning to this side of the Atlantic with her show Failure Confetti after taking it to the Edinburgh Festival two years ago. As a performer she’s endearing, witty, and extremely polished, and her show has genuine insight and heart. However, this work just doesn’t cohere into a whole that justifies itself sufficiently. The references are too Americanised to be fully relevant (this of course is unavoidable and natural, but it does beg the question about why the show was programmed), and, contradictory as this may sound, Press is almost too accomplished in her delivery. This means that there isn’t enough edge, enough danger that she may have to improvise a line or gesture or idea, that it may not go according to plan.
The set-up is that Press had always desired to be a Broadway diva, but suffered from an inability to dance or sing. Joining a method acting class, she faced her traumas and discovered a few more for good measure. The core revelation is her discovery of reports that diagnosed her with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in childhood. It’s a clever premise, and she gets some chuckles out of it, but never a deep, uncontrollable belly laugh. Winding throughout her relationship with her grandparents, her phobias and quirks, her acting and performing career, and her realisation of her attraction to other women, Press packs loads of subjects and ideas in, but the pay-off isn’t strong enough – what, really, do we learn from these moments, finely stitched together as they are?
There was also a significant production issue – Failure Confetti is in the New Theatre, a venue with roughly 70 tightly packed seats. There was absolutely no need, then, for Press to be wearing a microphone, as it was more than a tad deafening. Another aspect of her performance that was enjoyable, but underutilised, would have aided this – Press is clearly a consummate professional who knows her show backwards, but she very infrequently paused, instead dashing through her lines, hardly giving herself or the audience a break. The moments when she stopped, though, and allowed the room to simmer along without her guidance, showed superb comic timing. She should undoubtedly make greater use of this, to enhance and emphasise her evident talent.
Reviewed 19th Sept 2026.
