Irina Diva performs Marilyn Monroes last given interview in an unfurnished black box of a stage, with a pair of heels and a blonde wig the only objects in a timeless space. Diva is small, dark haired and wiry, and she speaks with a thick Bulgarian accent she is not trying to be Monroe, but rather to bring her words new life. This accent brings an interesting, foreign quality to the language and gives it an imaginative placelessness that would have been lost with a forced American accent. She performs the monologue, which ranges over such subjects as childhood, stardom, success and happiness, with an intensity and dramatic flair that set her out as an innate actress. All her actions are poised and full of energy, there is nothing loose or baggy about this performance and she doesnt totter once in her four-inch heels. In the second half of the show, a silent man (Graham Elwell) comes on and helps dress the actress. Throughout this, Diva faces away from the audience we see her bodice being zipped up, her shoes slipped off and swapped for the other pair, her fishnets pulled up, but we do not see her face. Although Divas voice is wonderfully expressive, and it is easy enough to hear what she is saying, some of the vitality of the first half is lost with the loss of her animated face. It puts the audience in a state of anticipation, and when the blonde wig is finally put on and the transformation complete, we expect the performance to move into a new gear. What follows is a comment on Monroes powerlessness and confusion in her final years. The show is sadly too short to do justice to either actress, (when I saw it, it ran to only half and hour) and the noise from the bar outside can be distracting at times. If this was turned into a full-length show it could be unmissable, as the subject and performer are both vitally gripping. Still as it is, it is a highly wrought and intense show - worth seeing.
