King's Theatre,
Edinburgh
Three stars
The stream of 1980s hen
night classics that form the pre-show fanfare for Denise Van Outen's
solo turn in her new play co-written with Terry Ronald may be telling
about what follows, but this is no dancing-in-the-aisles gin-fest.
There's something endearing about Van Outen's portrait of Essex girl
made good Stephanie as she seeks sanctuary in her posh hotel room
following the launch of her latest fancy underwear range. As she
confides in the audience like we're all having a girly chat,
something vulnerable emerges beyond Samantha's brassy front,
especially when her long lost first love gives her a virtual poke on
Facebook.
What follows in Michael
Howcroft's production openly acknowledges its debt to Shirley
Valentine,Willy Russell's monologue by a similar woman of a certain
age on the verge of temptation. Things have moved on, however, for
women like Stephanie, and there's a kind of trickle-down feminism at
play here, despite the designer labels and celebrity name-drops.
Van Outen, Ronald and
musical arranger Steve Anderson are so steeped in the pop culture
that sired them that this feels at times like dispatches from the
front-line of the Heat magazine massive. Despite this, Van Outen
holds the stage for almost two hours of fictional confessional
punctuated by renditions of songs by Culture Club, Soft Cell and
even Sonia. If the show isn't up there with its inspiration in terms
of writing, Van Outen remains an impressively gutsy presence for a
largely female audience, who might well look to her for inspiration
to get back in touch with the girl within and remind themselves who
they are.
The Herald, March 14th 2014
ends
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