Writers: Ellie Campbell and Megan Keaveny
Director: Rosa Hallam Fryer
Mary (Ellie Campbell) and Liz (Megan Keaveny) are housemates in London, struggling as much with the ups and downs of their flat share as they are with complicated sex lives and burgeoning artistic dreams. A very humdrum and slice-of-life setup, but one that starts on a strong footing thanks to the direction of Rosa Hallam Fryer, which sees our protagonists stand at opposite ends of the stage, each eager to announce themselves to the room via the microphone in their hands, lights blinking on and off, only to be interrupted constantly by the other.
It’s a rapid and exciting introduction that captures the best of the show in an instant and signals future highlights, including wonderful musical performances from Keaveny, who displays serious talent in both vocals and guitar playing, as well as a hilariously crude rap all about feminism delivered by Campbell.
But despite this great start, the story as a whole doesn’t quite hit as well as it could. The show is less of a firm narrative and more of a collection of vignettes from the lives of both characters. The overall tone is that of a sitcom, airy and played for laughs, while the ties between each vignette are light, all entertaining enough despite the lack of depth to the situations or characters involved. However, when trying to address this in the show’s closing half, there are stumbles as things shift to heavier themes.
These darker thematic shades, including a seemingly arbitrary bout of violence, feel crude and crowbarred into an otherwise tonally light show rather than an organic development of the characters and their lives – lives that are only ever partially sketched rather than fleshed out throughout the night.
Clearly, there is some awareness from the writing side of things that a splash of mood shifting is needed, but its flawed integration only clashes with the show’s real strengths in its lighthearted and camp fun. Still, when the show is in its fun mode, it sparkles like few other plays on the London stage.
Runs until 16 November 2024
The Reviews Hub Score
Flashy fun
