In this free one-woman show, Clara Lilly shares a string of stories collected from ten years of hitchhiking. It’s a straightforward show, with straightforward execution, delivered with a minimum of props – the odd motorway sign, a few hats and, of course, an enormous backpack.The show begins slowly with a few mildly humorous references to dress code and its potential implications on the road, as Clara considers the possible effect of wearing the giant Guinness hat, or the low cut top, or the flat cap … and so on. References such as this elicit laughter from some audience members throughout the performance, though I suspect they are recalling similar amusing incidents from their own travels. But despite being delivered in a stand-up storytelling style, Female Hitchhiker is not a comedy.Clara gives a sincere performance, recounting her experiences on the road, which vary from the heartwarming to the intimate to the predictably awkward. Eccentric characters encountered along the way include a string of grumpy Yorkshiremen, a female lorry driver who keeps a crate of alcopops and a gun under her seat, and a young upper-class divorcee who wants to see ‘how far she will go with him’. The script is at times stilted and self-indulgent, and you’ll need to turn a deaf ear to the accents. Most of Clara’s tales are of passing interest, but at times the narrative is painfully predictable and the delivery lacks the pace to make it worthy of performance.
