A show about a Sue Perkins stan who has a life-size cardboard cut-out of the former Great British Bake Off presenter and an unwavering belief that she “will be glad to have somebody like me as a girlfriend, thank you very much.” It just sounds amazing and, oh boy, it is.
Talented writing, with raw emotion, it was by far one of the best one-woman shows I’ve seen.
Sat in a therapist’s office, an unnamed woman takes the audience on a personal journey, describing how she’s done everything from blagging her way into backstage areas and even spending an evening pretending she's Sandi Toksvig’s cousin all in a desperate bid to pursue her one true love, Sue.
This is, however, much more than a play about a woman maniacally obsessed with Sue Perkins, it’s also a poignant tragicomedy about alcoholism. Based on Eleanor Higgins’ real life experiences, this powerful piece of theatre takes a heartfelt dive into gritty mental health issues and the use of questionable self-care methods (like drinking so much you wake up in an alley covered in someone else's urine).
It’s a really challenging story told in such a fascinating and gripping way, it will have you tearing up one minute and chuckling away the next.
Having described itself as ‘Fleabag meets Miranda’, In
PurSUEt gives
itself a lot to live up to and somewhat sets the audience
expectations higher than the actual execution allowed for. Due to
what felt like a few close crossovers with the aforementioned
shows, some parts felt lacking in total uniqueness. Most notably,
the emphatic “I’m fine..I’m fine” line which felt strikingly
reminiscent of Fleabag. While the protagonist’s self reflection, realisation and ultimate
recovery also felt slightly underdeveloped and in need of more
expansion. At only 45 minutes long, there is just not enough time
to provide the detail and depth needed for the complexity of this
storyline and to portray the difficult road toward
recovery.
A much longer version would provide the time this show needs to fully develop what is already an incredible and important story and properly open up the conversation surrounding substance misuse.
Overall, Eleanor Higgins’ delivery was razor sharp and engaging throughout. Talented writing, with raw emotion, it was by far one of the best one-woman shows I’ve seen.
