Cast your mind back to the 1990s, to the platform-clad years of 'Girl power', when the streets were paved with glitter and Princess Diana was our national treasure. This is what Colour Me Happy successfully evokes, as the three actresses (also the creators, writers and directors) narrate the story of a girl named Dot, a whimsical recollection of their own childhoods.Scattered, like an adult's memories of youth, Colour Me Happy provides an innocent impression of growing up in the nineties. However it is an honest portrayal with the memories well-chosen, from thinking you've been forgotten when you're the last child collected at school to struggling to blow out the candles on your birthday cake. The three are extremely talented and entirely believable as children, with their exaggerated movements and puzzled expressions.The experimental use of the stage and vintage props is excellent. They recreate an atmosphere of childhood with people-sized pencils, slinky-filled shoes and helium balloons to raise their pitches. The back of the set is reversed to reveal a Spice Girls life-sized cutout, which is hysterically used with Spice Girls interview tapes, as the three women use their faces to mimic along. Dot is represented by a simple blue puffa jacket, an effective device which not only reflects the fashion of the 90s and allows each performer to don Dot's character, but is also used to signify Dot in a puppet sequence and various childish tales of imagination.The show is let down a little by their nostalgic sentiment. As taken from their own diaries, Colour Me Happy is at its best when recreating their childhood moments, rather than feeling glum about growing up. The voice-overs from children at the Kilmorie School Council are also redundant and uninspiring, whereas the actual performers are much more captivating to watch.If you're tempted by an hour of pop-themed, wistful hi-jinks, then Colour me Happy is for you. It certainly left the audience yearning for the past millennium, as they sung their way out of the theatre. ‘Spice up your life’, indeed.
