FRESH KNICKERS (AND A GIN AND TONIC)

Drayton Arms

★★

“With a little polishing, this show could be quite the conversation starter”

Millions of women in the UK experience perimenopausal symptoms yet understanding remains patchy. ‘Fresh Knickers (and a Gin & Tonic)’ addresses menopause myths head on, offering a light-hearted, musical window into many of the issues. Though it’s more lukewarm than hot flush.

Cheryl is turning 50 and just when she’s expecting life to slow down, things heat up – literally. Hot flushes, brain fog, insomnia, mood changes, blood clots – you name it, she’s got it. Cheryl might even have to miss bestie Sandra’s charity ball, held in honour of Sandra’s late mum. But in steps ‘Fuzzy B’, the menopause fairy godmother, and together with Sandra and a host of other characters, Cheryl gets help for her symptoms and goes to the ball after all.

Written, directed and produced by Heather Davis, ‘Fresh Knickers’ feels like an educational piece with humour and music thrown in for good measure. There are touching moments, such as Cheryl and husband Harry arguing then reconciling, and the interruption of a girly evening by some unexpectedly heavy bleeding. That said, the book needs work. It’s unsure if it’s a musical or a panto, with a sincere songs and passages interspersed with camp fairy godmothers, a horrible stepfamily and other panto-esque tropes. It prefers laughs to depth, glossing over the complex realities of menopause despite the subject matter. None of the long roll call of characters feels fleshed out. Even protagonist Cheryl feels stereotyped – why is it her job to buy her husband’s mum a birthday card while he’s down the pub? Why does Cheryl then apologise when she forgets?

Composer and Musical Director Georgina St. George’s score chooses good moments to convey further insights into the characters’ lives but is unsatisfying musically and lyrically. The opening song is reprised twice without much musical development. Some songs are a barrage of clunky lyrics – for example, there’s an entire song trying very hard to find rhymes to ‘Cinder-Cheryl’, a mouthful in itself. Fuzzy B mostly raps which is fun but feels a little incongruous. Overall, I’m not sure how much it adds.

Heather Davis’ direction puts Cheryl front and centre, offering insights directly to the audience. There are fun moments such as Fuzzy B generally, the ‘Beauties R Us’ dream/nightmare sequence and the HRT song. However, the projector screen intermittently showing cartoon brains and quotes doesn’t add much and sometimes distracts from the action.

William Hamilton-Tighe’s set design makes inventive use of two rotating cabinets, creating multiple locations with simple adjustments. Hamilton-Tighe’s costumes are mixed, with colourful, well-tailored outfits for Fuzzy B and the dream beauticians, but an ill-fitting ball gown for Cheryl’s final scene. Finley Nathan’s animation design is an interesting idea but could do more to progress the narrative. George Emberson’s lighting design could be more inventive but sound design is rather good – it’s a little loud in places but uses well-crafted sound effects to elevate scenes, especially with a real-time game of darts.

The cast does a good job with the material available. Sara Jane Derrick contrasts a troubled Cheryl with comedic Colin, hitting the high notes if sounding a little tense vocally. Lucia Fox’s Sandra is sassy yet sensitive. Fox also leans into the long list of smaller characters, giving each a unique characterisation and projecting well. Elliott McMillan steals a few scenes as Fuzzy B, bringing swagger and sexiness.

‘Fresh Knickers (and a Gin & Tonic)’ is a little more fizzle than fizz but does engage in an important discourse about perimenopause. With a little polishing, this show could be quite the conversation starter.

FRESH KNICKERS (AND A GIN AND TONIC)

★★

Drayton Arms

FRESH KNICKERS (AND A GIN AND TONIC)

Drayton Arms

★★

“With a little polishing, this show could be quite the conversation starter”