Writers: Hannah O’Reilly and Kylie Brady
Director: Hannah O’Reilly
Kylie Brady has certainly understood that a single-character performance is the perfect opportunity to showcase all the skills listed on your theatre CV, and in this 50-minute piece, The Wondrous Conveyance of Stella Estrella, co-written with Hannah O’Reilly, 10 entirely separate creations are certainly a setting for her skills. There is singing, dancing, multiple accents, emotional range, animal acting, gender-swapping, bi-lingual work, drama, comedy and, of course, writing – for any casting agents attending the show’s brief return to the Etcetera Theatre, Brady has got it all.
Attending a séance led by medium, Stella, the audience is treated to a series of visitors who speak through their host, some with particular messages for attendees and others just crashing the party. But forced to continue the family business, Stella’s consuming gift is becoming more than she can bear, but with only increased expectations from her relatives, is there anyone out there who can help her?
This is a charming idea from O’Reilly and Brady, who have constructed an amusing series of different personalities within the séance concept but modernised the premise, turning this into a corporate-style experience with customer coupons and an introductory sales pitch. The show retains its creepiness with Lady Macbeth’s invocation to start, and watching the spirits take over Stella’s being is deliberately chilling, but the more contemporary televangelist approach is nicely pitched.
And The Wondrous Conveyance of Stella Estrella has created its characters around all those performance skills that Brady can turn on, giving each one a distinct tone and backstory. Some naturally work better than others, including the soulful Southern American man afraid to approach his soulmate, which could expand into its own monologue, and the judgy mother back from the dead to complain about her child’s cleanliness. Each one of these stories feels a little short-changed, but the quick transformation and range of ideas bodes well for future creative development.
What the show needs more of is Stella herself, and despite some hints about the family business, there isn’t quite enough of her backstory to carry this through. The slow breakdown is a good starting point, but Stella’s growing unprofessionalism could play out for longer, commenting on the people she channels and how tiresome she finds their presence. What else can the writers tell us about her family, the gift Stella has inherited and the pressure to monetise it in this way? Most importantly, there should also be room for ambiguity – are these real spirits or part of a fracturing of her personality that might offer a different slant to this monologue? The Inside No 9 episode ‘Thinking Out Loud’ could be a useful reference point here.
Nonetheless, this is a thoughtful piece with lots of room for development that could take this to a full hour and even a little beyond. There must be some other skills on Brady’s CV that are just waiting for a character to possess them.
Runs until 19 November 2024
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