Hannah Maxwell’s internationally acclaimed one-woman show had a few hiccups in its adapting to the Barbara Hardy Garden, but it scarcely mattered because she’s so cool, and she made the small glitches part of the fun.
Beginning with a flashback and singalong where Hannah plays her own grandfather, we then cut to her on a train (actually two chairs) as she returns home to Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, and her family, who have 90ish years’ experience in the Amateur Dramatics realm. Memories are intercut with snatches of keyboard, soundbites and clips on a TV, as she recounts how everything was about the performances, and what happened after she messed up her My Fair Lady audition back in 2010.
This is played for spirited comedy, but there’s a sincere melancholy here too, as Hannah recalls how the production happened at the same time as her exams and her coming-out, which took place after she developed a big crush on a girl down the street. Her family later seemed to struggle with her “political correctness”, and she evidently wishes that things could be different, even while she amusingly sings Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Major General Song with altered lyrics that include “Learned Urban Lesbian”.
Sometimes stopping to briefly stand still (yes, the heat was getting to her!), this singular sensation concludes with, you guessed it, a little audience participation. So watch out!
Rating: 3.5 stars
For tickets and more information on Hannah Maxwell: I, AmDram, visit: adelaidefringe.com.au or holdenstreettheatres.com
