Review: WEATHER GIRL, Soho Theatre

It would be fair to say Weather Girl was the talk of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. With a Scotsman Fringe First, a Lustrum Award, and a queue stretching back into the Summerhall courtyard, it was only a matter of time until this sweltering success got a much-anticipated London transfer. Now fully sold out at Soho Theatre, it’s clear to see why this show had audiences talking.

Bouncy blonde curls, perfect white teeth, a pristine pink and red outfit… and a Stanley cup full of prosecco. Fresno weather girl Stacey (Julia McDermott) is an all-American TV darling, or so it seems. When her beloved California is gradually overtaken by wildfires, she finds herself shaken to her core, as all her crazy threatens to bubble over the surface… 

McDermott gives a truly magnetic performance as Stacey. Always teetering on the edge of mania, she delivers mile-a-minute lines without stopping to breathe and oozes watchability. This larger-than-life character could have felt exhausting or artificial in less skilled hands, but she succeeds in also finding Stacey’s humanity. 

Writer Brian Watkins doesn’t so much as tap into climate anxiety as cracks it right open. The image of a picture-perfect weather girl is a very smart way to highlight that all-too-prevalent ‘everything’s fine’ mentality, and his script allows this to gradually disintegrate into pure chaos as the fires worsen and Stacey goes off the rails. 

While it may be demonstrably commercial - another surefire hit from Fleabag/Baby Reindeer producer Francesca Moody - Weather Girl is also a very strange play. While these elements seem to be broadly allegorical, it touches on witchcraft and the supernatural in unexpected ways, constantly keeping audiences on their toes. Its ending, too, definitely asks as many questions as it answers.

The Weather Girl set resembles an influencer’s studio. The stage is adorned with several cameras and several microphones, as well as looming televisions, all on top of a green screen. It’s so clean it sparkles, reminding us of the contrast between this and the grim reality of the fires outside. Designer Isabella Byrd finds a way to convey the horror of Stacey’s situation without veering into the cliche or gratuitous, instead creating a theatrical world that’s intricately constructed. 

The lighting (which creates some gorgeous shadow work), along with Tyne Rafaeli’s direction, keeps this play racing along to its destination, finding surprising creative choices upon a simple set. The only frustration here, perhaps, is that the TV screens remain unused - this is one of the show’s only creative choices that doesn’t entirely land.

Weather Girl is a riot of a play - somehow both laugh-a-minute and deeply unsettling, it’s no surprise it reportedly has interest from Netflix. In this iteration, however, it fails to fully stick its landing. The otherworldly, supernatural elements of the play often feel at odds with its central drive and grinning, grimacing tone. While an interesting concept, this aspect of the play feels as though it isn’t fully integrated, making it trickier for the allegories and metaphors to have their full desired impact. Instead, the ending feels somewhat rushed, as though we’re being left at the most intriguing point. 

Nonetheless, Weather Girl is a hit for a reason. Its climate change theme more timely than ever, it’s certainly proof that the one woman show is far from dead, and that Moody knows how to spot a smash. Forecast is saying that this surely won’t be the last we see of Stacey. 

Weather Girl runs at Soho Theatre (Main House) until 5 April

To post a comment, you must register and login.