Review: KAREN at The Other Palace, London

 


Date: 20th March 2024

Seat: Unallocated - Studio Floor

Tickets: Gifted

Rating: 4 Stars

A woman enjoying a Calippo stands on a stage. It sounds like the beginning of a long-winded joke, but it’s actually the start of Karen, a one-woman play by Sarah Cameron-West (who also stars), and she doesn’t enjoy that Calippo for long because her boyfriend, Joe, dumps her. On a day out at Alton Towers. On her 30th birthday. Not quite the surprise she was hoping for, especially as she had her nails done in I Do Pink because she thought she was going to be getting a ring. 

Of course, this is all Karen’s doing. Or so the protagonist (she’s so angry at everyone that she never actually gives us her name) thinks. After all, Karen is her ultimate nemesis at work, and since the three of them work in the same office, why wouldn’t it be Karen that Joe is having an affair with? And the thing is, our protagonist hits the nail right on the head. 

Over the next hour or so, Sarah Cameron-West, beautifully directed by Evie Ayres-Townshend, takes us through the fall-out of her break-up, and she does it with some truly hilarious one-liners, brilliant asides to the audience, and a feeling that she could be any one of us when it comes down to it. 


Phot credit: Dylan Woodley


One of the cleverest elements of Karen is that despite Cameron-West being the only performer, we can very clearly imagine everyone else, from Tony the boss to Stacey the best friend to Joe the ex and, of course, the eponymous Karen herself. Rather than trying to be all those characters, Cameron-West sticks to just the one, and the audience hears one-sided conversations (including a suddenly rather emotional one with her mother) that are so well crafted and performed that it’s as though the other person is there. This is all achieved with some brutal fourth wall-breaking that will draw you into the story and ensure you want to know what happens next. And you’ll be on the protagonist’s side while it all unfolds. 

Sarah Cameron-West took a moment to thank her creative team while the audience was celebrating her achievement with a very long and very rapturous round of applause, and they absolutely deserve that praise. Lighting designer Oliver McNally creates a dual world, with some furious flashes of red and sudden dips into darkness that take us from reality into the protagonist’s mind as she thinks of the things she should have said and wished she had. And Sarah Spencer’s sound design adds another layer, placing the audience perfectly where they need to be and making the whole thing seem much more real as a result. 


Photo credit: Dylan Woodley


Karen manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny and perfectly poignant, and by the time it’s over, you feel as cleansed and new as the protagonist, ready to face the world’s Karens and come out victorious on the other side. 

Karen plays at The Other Palace Studio until 24th March: https://theotherpalace.co.uk/karen/ and then at the Edinburgh Fringe on selected dates in August: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/karen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: I WISH MY LIFE WERE LIKE A MUSICAL

Image
  Photo credit: Rod Penn Tickets: Gifted Date: 31st August 2023  Seat: H16  Rating: 5 Stars Who among us hasn't wistfully wished our lives were like a musical when we're sitting in a theatre, gazing up at the stage? I know I have, and I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one, otherwise  I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical  wouldn't exist.  It's a good thing it does.  Written by Alexander S. Bermange (who also appears on stage playing the piano – the only instrument used throughout across 16 songs in a rapid 70-minute runtime) and directed and choreographed by Matthew Parker, this short show is an ode not just to musicals, but to those who love them, from excited theatregoer to 'super fan', as well as the performers themselves.  I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical  starts as it means to go on, with the cast of Jennifer Caldwell, Julie Yammanee, Sev Keoshgerian, and Rhidian Marc donning glitzy gold waistcoats and high-kicking across the stage. Thi...
Read more

Review: CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG at The Hawth, Crawley

Image
  Date: 20th August 2024 Seat: R15 Tickets: Gifted Rating: 4 Stars  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is something we’ve all grown up with; it’s just always been there, reliable and faithful as the car itself, so what would it be like on stage? Could it be just as heart-warming and nostalgia-inducing? The answer is yes – the show is full of charm, energy, and just the right amount of nostalgia. If you love the film, you’ll love the show; there are even some extra song and dance numbers thrown in.  One of the things that really makes a show like Chitty , much like the film itself, is the cast, and this cast is an exceptional one. Adam Garcia shone as Caractacus Potts, bringing warmth and charisma to the role, and his performance of “Hushabye Mountain” was beautifully heartfelt, and his playful banter with Ellie Nunn’s Truly Scrumptious was spot-on. She’s a modern-day Truly, trousers and all, and it works for a modern-day audience without taking away anything that makes the characte...
Read more

Review: BRONCO BILLY at The Charing Cross Theatre, London

Image
Photo credit: The Other Richard Date: 31st January 2024 Seat: M6 (Stalls) Tickets: Gifted Rating: 3 Stars  Adapting older movies into musicals seems to be a trend these days, some with better results than others, and Bronco Billy , with a book by Dennis Hackin and music and lyrics by Chip Rosenbloom and John Torres (with additional lyrics by Michele Brourman), is one of the better ones – if anything, it’s improved the film and made it a lot more enjoyable for everyone, which is something every audience member is sure to appreciate.  The main word that can be used to describe Bronco Billy is fun. It’s wild and wacky and loud and bright, and there are some wonderful characters and some lovely songs, but really when you leave, it’s the fun you’ve had that stays with you, and that’s no bad thing – if you’re feeling a bit down because January lasted for sixty billion months and you need a quick pick-me-up, Bronco Billy might just do the trick.  The story is about a travellin...
Read more