Reviewed by Petra Schulenburg, Monday 5th March 2018.
The Adelaide Fringe has a long and proud history of opening opportunities to artists and performers, local, national and global, to enable them to showcase new works and test new boundaries. The world premiere of
Grace, written, produced, and performed by British actress, Katie Reddin-Clancy, is one such show.
The basic concept behind the show is, "a comedian's journey through to her first time on stage identifying as a non-binary performer". Reddin-Clancy was inspired to write the piece because of a close friend who came out as transgender. To quote, "I was touched by the issues that she faced and the ferocity with which she faced them".
The script, and Reddin-Clancy's performance, moves from character to character "exploring gender, mental health in the arts, spiritualism, and the importance of supporting the arts industry".
So, along the way, we also meet Sheryl, a needy, neurotic and pitifully lonely theatre manager, Anna Clamber, a take-off of your stereotypical actor's agent, greedy, self-obsessed, and unfeeling, as well as the titular Grace, her ex-wife Audrey, and Alfie, the comedian who is debuting on stage as Zora.
Confused? So, I am sorry to say, was the audience.
Which is a shame, because Reddin-Clancy creates some wonderful characterisations, and the comic delivery of the stand-up aspects of the script is spot on. Her biography speaks to a versatile and varied career in the entertainment industry as a comedienne, actress, voiceover artist, radio/television presenter, broadcast journalist, model, and a writer.
But, while Reddin-Clancy is clearly a talented performer, the issues with this production are many and varied. The script rambles along from character to character without sufficiently building to a point, let alone a climax capable of holding the audience's interest for the entire hour. What begins promisingly, unravels, becoming increasingly difficult to follow and ultimately tapers off to end strangely with some interpretive dance.
Performing, let alone writing and performing, a one-person show is hard work. All eyes are on you alone and there is nowhere to hide, literally. However, the core messages of the play of "power, love, letting go, and daring to believe" are worthy subject matter, so while this play needs some reworking, its heart is pure and strong. I very much hope that Reddin-Clancy's vision will grow to see another life, perhaps at a future Adelaide Fringe.
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