Bright spark comedienne Pippa Evans returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for another year, bringing her most loved character, the drunk and disturbed American rock chick that is Miss Loretta Maine, back to life once again. Back with some brand new songs as well as a few classics, Maine takes the stage - front and centre, of course - with her new band, singing songs about loves lost, first world problems and the perils of being bipolar ‘back when it was called manic depression.’
If you haven’t seen or heard of Maine before, just try to imagine a four way cross between Dolly Parton, Tim Minchin, Anna Faris and a free bar and even then, you’ll merely be scratching the surface. With her blacked out eyes stained with running mascara and hair teased for that extra crazy look, you’ll be forgiven into thinking you’ve stepped into a one woman autobiographical musical theatre, that’s how well Evans carries her character.
This control is emphasised when Maine, swigging back mini bottle after mini bottle of her favourite white wine, Blossom Hill, becomes more and more intoxicated, slurring out nonsensical ramblings before picking up her guitar again to deliver catchy song after catchy song with true talent and an attitude driven by nothing but passionate anger. Covering personality disorders, cheating boyfriends, plastic surgery and how many chicken takeaway shops she can name - surprisingly there are a lot - she delivers each song with a voice almost as strong as her liver and such aggressive guitar strumming it feels like her strings could snap any second. At one point she attempts to down a whole bottle of Blossom Hill in 20 seconds and prevails; then, after making sure she doesn’t throw up onstage, she carries on singing. What a trooper.
If this show proves anything, it’s that Maine has still got it, unless she has either drank it or used it to wipe away her tears.
