Written and performed by Nina-Lou Bricard, ‘The Waiting’ is an intense, uncompromising and frequently traumatic one-woman show. Developed from a one-minute monologue, it takes the polished exterior of beauty, modelling, success and glamour and tears violently through its surface.
Bricard plays a former French supermodel who abandons her wedding, quite literally a runaway bride, providing the starting point for a turbulent examination of identity, relationships, trauma and the experiences that have shaped her. What follows is certainly not comfortable theatre. The material is raw and deeply personal in its presentation, with some experiences depicted graphically and without attempting to soften their impact.
Bricard delivers it with extraordinary commitment and passion. Her performance is high-energy, frenetic and, at times, almost manic, shifting rapidly between thoughts, memories and emotional states. There is a sense of total unpredictability throughout, as though the character could unravel completely at any moment. Yet beneath the physical chaos is an extremely accomplished performer maintaining control of demanding material.
Perhaps the production’s greatest achievement is the unusual relationship Bricard establishes with her audience. By the conclusion, it feels less as though we have simply watched her character’s story and more as though we have somehow endured it alongside her. There is an unexpected sense of connection, even bonding, with the performer that makes the experience particularly affecting.
Yet ‘The Waiting’ deliberately refuses to provide an easy resolution, leaving an extraordinary number of questions hanging in the air. What exactly have we witnessed? How reliable are the memories being presented? Is Maeva experiencing a breakdown? Where does theatrical performance end and personal testimony begin? And what happens to this woman after we leave her?
It is messy, confronting and emotionally exhausting, but also extremely well performed. Bricard does not offer her audience the comfort of neatly packaged answers, instead, she leaves us carrying fragments of her character’s experience out of the theatre with us, still trying to piece them together.
Part of the Bitesize Festival, ‘The Waiting’ runs at Riverside Theatre until 22nd August, and tickets are available here: https://riversidestudios.co.uk/whats-on/EF-the-waiting
Reviewer: Alan Stuart Malin
Reviewed: 20th August 2026
North West End UK Rating: