Almost Adult – Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose
Actor and creator Anne-Tilley combines comedy and drama as her character Hope tackles both coming-of-age issues as well as the more serious ones that unfortunately confront women in particular. Hope thinks she's escaped the north of England for the bright lights of London, only to find the capital, and adulthood come with their own challenges.
Though well-meant, timely and heartfelt, the uncomfortable nature of these issues and Anne-Tilley's natural strengths as a performer make the more dramatic parts of the show much more successful than the comedy ones.
Though the two stars given here might suggest there is more that doesn't work than there is, that very much isn't the case, as it's more a question of imbalance. Had comedy been more the icing than the raison d'etre, Anne-Tille...