Louise Marwood’s one-woman performance is informed by her own lived experience, a dark tale of depression, drink, drugs and self-deprecation. “Rita Lynn” lays bare the life of an addict who struggles to break free from the grip of cocaine after her dance career has failed. Imogen has lost everything; with her drug addiction enabled by her toxic boyfriend and dealer Dexter, and her drag queen pal Melian, also an addict. Imogen spirals from overdose to overdose between occasional unsuccessful trips to AA meetings. Then, purely by accident and in a moment of drug-induced delusion, she offers to counsel a wealthy woman as a life coach, adopting the name Rita Lynn. She sees this as an encouraging new start, a way forward out of her chaotic lifestyle and a release from the trauma of her past. She clearly wants to break free, but the addiction still controls her.
This is not a show with any happy ending. There’s no redemption or recovery for Imogen, no bright future. She remains an addict mired in her feelings of loss, grief and trauma. Although there are moments of humour, this is not a dark comedy. Rather, it whirls around Imogen’s chaotic life with the other characters appearing as recorded voices interacting with her. This aspect of the production is not entirely successful, with many of the interjections poorly timed and causing Marwood either having to wait for the recording to kick in or she is talking over the disembodied voice when it comes in too early. The volume of the recorded voices is also too loud in comparison to Imogen’s voice, a jarring note that makes the characters more like interruptions than contributions to the narrative. It’s a shame, because this detracts from Marwood’s otherwise excellent performance and affects the overall pacing of the show.
Marwood is a brave writer and actor, not least because she’s laid her life bare with this depiction of addiction and loss. A hard-edged look into the dark side of the human condition.
Rita Lynn is at the Turbine Theatre until 27th January. Tickets are available from: https://www.theturbinetheatre.com/whats-on/rita-lynn
Reviewer: Carole Gordon
Reviewed: 24th January 2024
North West End UK Rating: