Writer: Louise Marwood
Director: Nick Bagnall
Imogen Wood (aka I would) used to be a dancer but somehow, she became a drug addict and now lives with her enabler boyfriend, Dexter. They spend their days and nights snorting cocaine and taking the occasional bump of ketamine. She doesn’t work but just wants to stay in eating, having sex and doing lines. So begins Louise Marwood’s uneven play about addiction.
The title of Marwood’s play is a pun on Ritalin, an ADHD medication, but the joke goes nowhere really when her character tells the audience that cocaine is her drug of choice. Other narrative choices also fizzle out; the main plot concerns Imogen’s accidental career as a life coach to a woman whose main claim to fame is that she wrote a children’s book about circumcision. Imogen’s subterfuge as a life coach is ironic role considering her own life is such a mess. And yet, this story is never fully mined for all its humour.
Instead, Marwood relies on short skits for the laughs. For example, one scene between her and Dexter is reimagined as a cosy American sitcom from the 1950s while another scene is performed to the music of The Stripper. But these short interludes are never funny enough and undercut the sadness inherent in Marwood’s story.
However, despite these interruptions, Marwood’s decision to refuse easy resolution is admirable and the bookending of the first and final scenes is a brave and successful choice showing how difficult it is to fight addiction. They also reveal – without telling – the possible emptiness in Imogen’s life that she is trying to fill with cocaine. Significantly, the white powder spread out in lines across the stage never disappears.
Marwood mainly plays Imogen throughout the 60 minutes; other characters such as her boyfriend, therapist and her best friend – a glamorous drag queen with a foot fetish – are provided by voiceovers. While these are effective to a point, it might have been more interesting to see Marwood, who once played Chrissie in Emmerdale, inhabit these characters herself.
At the moment, Rita Lynn is uneven because it is never funny or poignant enough. The balance between the two is difficult to get right. As it is, only the conclusion hits hard.
Runs until 27 January 2024
