Writer: Mary Lincoln
Director: Samuel Ripman
Marcella has been putting off clearing out the junk in her loft for years, promising one day she’ll finally tackle it and stop holding on to fragments of the past.
After accidentally ordering eight hot plates on Amazon, rather than simply returning them, she decides to add them to the ever-growing pile of stuff in her loft, vowing to remove eight of her previously sentimental items to make way for the boxes she knows she will inevitably never use again. It’s a big task ahead, so she heads straight for her costume rail, knowing the items there, although loved, have no purpose in her life now, no matter how special they once were. Old stage outfits and audition pieces are lovingly remembered and set aside for the charity shop as she reminisces on her life and the memories that each item brings with it.
Mary Lincoln’s narrative is perfectly pleasant, but a bit patchy, and much like your own spring-cleaning sessions, it’s quite dull at points, with not enough in her stories or anecdotes to fully hold attention through the 65-minute runtime. Marcella does frequently allude to her relationship with her mother – who never wanted her to pursue an acting career, as well as some brief mentions of her ex-husband, but the snippets are clouded by too much fluff in between that stops you fully getting to know the heart of the character outside of the sporadic stories. Her stories around her career, and diversions from it, are ones many creatives will relate to, but they still don’t hold as much weight as expected, and you are left wanting more.
At the beginning, there are lengthy sections of silence, as well as some strange pre-recorded mumbles and humming, as she potters around the loft, moving boxes and repeatedly hitting her head on the beams. It makes for a realistic show, but has you pleading for something of note rather than simply being a fly on the wall of a household chore. Later in the narrative, when Marcella gets to the empty hanger that once held a fabulous green coat that made her feel like the star she always wanted to be, the audience finally gets the depth it was waiting for, alongside an emotional outburst that seems to be as much of a needed purge for Marcella as the cleaning is.
Lincoln is clearly a well-seasoned performer, shown through her varying accents and expressions as she recounts various characters within her past. Her manner is engaging, and her story is a relatable one. She has written Marcella as a character who has clearly had an intriguing life; it’s just a shame we don’t hear more about the more interesting moments within it.
Runs until 28 September 2024
The Reviews Hub Score
Pleasant but patchy
