MOTORHOME MARILYN
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
★★★
“Fans of Michelle Collins will enjoy the opportunity to see her live on stage”
Michelle Collins, of Eastenders fame, is packing the house with her fans at the Gilded Balloon’s Patterhouse Downstairs. Motorhome Marilyn is a quirky one woman show written by Ben Weatherill, and directed by Alexandra Spencer-Jones. It’s not just about Marilyn Monroe impersonators, though, but a cautionary tale of a young woman abandoned by her American lover in Albuquerque.
Left to survive on her wits and very little else, Denise from Southend finds a way of supporting herself by “becoming” Marilyn Monroe. After several failed attempts to launch an acting career, she ends up living in a motorhome in Las Vegas, decorated with Monroe memorabilia. “Marilyn” gives us a rundown on her career as an impersonator, and a few of the disappointments and heartbreaks along the way. We are treated to a rendition of Marilyn’s singing in “River Of No Return” which is appropriate in the circumstances. “Marilyn’s” or rather, Denise’s confessions are often directed at Bobby, her pet reticulated python. Denise’s unorthodox methods of providing Bobby with food is one of the ways in which her life continues to spiral downward. When Motorhome Marilyn begins, Denise’s past is about to catch up with her once more, and the odds of impersonating her way out of this dilemma don’t look good.
Michelle Collins performs the role of Denise impersonating Marilyn Monroe with every ounce of a world weary, but ever hopeful sixty something that Denise confesses herself to be. As an actress, Collins has done her homework, and that includes a dive into the conflicted world of the impersonators. Is impersonation compensation for not succeeding in an acting career, or is it a more complicated relationship with a dead movie star? Both? Playwright Weatherill and actor Collins have worked together to provide just enough evidence that something is not quite right about Denise’s obsession with Marilyn Monroe. She was born with an obsessive nature. It’s Denise’s ability to focus on the most minute detail that provides a genuinely gruesome denouement. This is familiar territory for Collins, and fans of Eastenders will be intrigued.
Motorhome Marilyn is a sad tale as well as a grisly one. And if this story sounds too far fetched, let’s remember how many Elvis impersonators are making a living in the USA. In Las Vegas, as we know, the unlikely becomes inevitable. Fans of Michelle Collins will enjoy the opportunity to see her live on stage, and to judge by the sold out shows, there are a lot of them in Edinburgh at the moment. Hurry on down to the Patterhouse to grab your ticket.
MOTORHOME MARILYN
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Reviewed on 15th August 2025 at Doonstairs at Gilded Balloon Patter House
by Dominica Plummer
Photography by Lucy Hayes
