One-woman show ‘Dazzling’ is a drama exploring themes of love, addiction, and mental health through a queer lens. Sexuality and gender were naturally integrated into the storyline (especially the use of they/them pronouns for character Fi) which gave the show an innate inclusivity that felt naturally written and performed. I would like to see more fringe shows break social norms in this supportive way.
Holly Sewel’s writing used poetic technique to convey emotion in a beautiful and thought-provoking way. The use of poetry was especially effective during the manic runs of monologue where Alix’s bounding speech created a sense of loss of control. The final metaphor of the putting a pillow in-between two people to create a boundary whilst also allowing them to lean upon each other was so wonderfully written and spoken and it hasn’t left my head since watching the show.
Charlie Scott-Hayes was sensational as Alix. She made the audience feel like we were hallucinations within her mind through direct speech and small but clever audience interactions. Her impersonations of Alix’s mum were well executed and entertaining, however I felt that the voice of Jan got lost during more vigorous sections of dialogue between Alix and Jan, such as the moving out scene.
The entire team did an excellent job of portraying mid-twenties ambiance at all levels of production. In particular, the set design had a disordered yet aesthetic feel that matched the character perfectly. There had clearly a lot of attention to detail both in the physical set and spoken words to bring this show together into a confluent performance.
Reviewer: Amy Rose Holstead
Reviewed: 19th August 2023
North West End UK Rating: