GIRL IN A CRISIS (SimG Records)
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
This one-woman musical (with book, music and lyrics by Andrew Fisher) received its premiere at London’s Crazy Coqs in November 2018.
Its heroine is Flic, a 28-year-old actress working as a waitress, living alone with her cat and always in a permanent state of crisis. All of her friends are getting married and she has to attend the weddings alone. She is desperate to get a boyfriend and the desperation is increased when she learns that her smug sister is also getting married. The hunt is on!
The musical is a song cycle of 28 short tracks that depict the anticipation and joy of dating and the heartbreak of falling for the wrong guy. Finally she realises and accepts that she has to move on from being a drama queen and settle for a life alone until….!
The score is low key and intimate – no great anthems or melodies. The songs are narrative with instrumental injections punctuating the story. The music blends jaunty soft jazz with soulful bluesy notes and witty words add humour to the dramatic tension.
As with all one-person shows success relies on the quality and skills of the performer – in this case Lorna Want who premiered the show at the Crazy Coqs. And she is good, very good. She has the comic touch that lightens the angst together with vocal skills that provide the variety necessary to sustain and engage the listener’s attention.
Barrie Jerram
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