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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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A girl full of next door charm
Some Girl I Used to Know Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton ***
This one woman show introduces a novel concept, a jukebox
monologue, starring Denise Van Outen living out a mid life crisis
as alter ego Stephanie, set in a hotel room, belting out some period
torch songs, a reboot of
Shirley Valentine
for a new generation. The pressure of a lone performance is considerable and when the performer has co-written the script, as is the case here, with Terry Ronald, there is nowhere to hide. Although ostensibly the tale of an Essex girl lingerie saleswoman made good, the parallels with her own story are thinly disguised. Her love life is balanced between a racy, louche lover, whose attributes bear a remarkable resemblance to first husband pop star Jay Kay, and a safe but dull lover, remarkably similar to second husband Lee Mead. Van Outen is no Wag made good.
She can act, sing, and dance, with a professional resume far stronger
than her paparazzi driven career suggests. In particular, she delivers
the Steve Anderson remixes of 80’s and 90’s hits, including Culture
Club’s Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? and Soft Cell’s Say
Hello, Wave Goodbye , the two best numbers of the night, with some
style, and considerable affection. The songs and music
provide welcome variety and subliminal context to the narrative.
But her acting alone has not brought her fortune, and of course we get
an on stage changing scene to provide an opportunity to appreciate her
physical charms, spicing up the evening nicely for her male admirers.
She looks fabulous in her vertiginous Jimy Choo heels too. At the heart of this is the
well–worn dilemma of the girl who has it all - who hasn’t. Is she
tempted by the Facebook poke of her flawed old flame? Or are the dying
embers of her current relationship worth reigniting? Inevitably it
teeters on vain self-indulgence, but is saved by Van Outen’s straight to
audience delivery, and girl-next-door charm.
The script itself has some
funny lines, but strains a little under the lone performer format. If
her love interests Sean and Paul had made physical appearances, the show
would have benefitted enormously. Michael Howcroft’s production, staged on Morgan Large’s lush hotel room set, ekes the maximum out of the raw materials. Van Outen is likeable, confident and sassy, playing to the expectations of her sizable fan club, mostly women of a similar age, who lapped up every dip of the hips, and wink of the eye. A chick lit story for the
stage, fans will be delighted, not least by her singing. The show runs
till Saturday 22-02-14 and then continues on
tour. Gary
Longden |
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