TRUE TALES OF SEX, SUCCESS AND SEX AND THE CITY at the London Palladium

★★★½

“an enjoyable, if slightly twee, evening out with the women in your life”

And just like that, it’s thirty years since Sex and the City first appeared as Candace Bushnell’s original New York Observer column. In the intervening years there have been books, TV series and films all exploring the lives of single, professional, and sexually adventurous women in New York City. Bushnell has revealed she sold the screen rights to Sex and the City for $100,000 in the 90s and doesn’t receive royalties, so despite the show’s incredible success – she doesn’t see a penny. Instead, she has focused her career on being a writer, with books that have consistently appeared in the NY Times bestseller lists on publication.

Perhaps it’s the thirty year anniversary of the column, or that she’s feeling a new lust for life at 65, or something else entirely, but this year Candace Bushnell, who, at least in the UK, has a much less public profile than her on screen persona Carrie Bradshaw, is touring a one woman show offering to reveal the truth at the heart of her stories.

It’s a sell-out concept with extremely high production values. At least seven pairs of Louboutins, Manolos and more are bathed in the warm glow of their own spotlights lining the front of the stage, with more dressing shelves across the back. However, this shopaholic’s boudoir is disappointingly a bit more Elle Woods than fashion-forward Carrie Bradshaw.

“the content is engaging and will thrill any fans of the show”

In the 90s and even before, through columns in Cosmopolitan and other women’s magazines, it’s clear Candace was a trailblazer, a third wave feminist with Gloria Steinem as a childhood idol, talking frankly and openly about sex. But there’s been criticism of some of the content of the TV series by today’s standards of sex and gender politics. Despite this, Carrie and Candace Bushnell clearly still appeal to many women, with gaggles of girls of all ages queuing down Argyll Street in front of the London Palladium eager to hear from the real Carrie Bradshaw.

Bushnell struts on stage with a perfect blow out, candy red dress, bare legs and of course a matching pair of red Manolos. Even her presentation is expertly polished, but so much so that it feels unnaturally robotic – barely pausing for breath from one line to the next, intentional choreographed movements across the stage from, gasps fixing her mouth and eyes in wide ‘O’s for just a touch too long. Performance wise, it reads more children’s entertainer than mature, sophisticated adult. One can recognise something of Carrie in the way she speaks, her intonation and penchant for rhetorical questions, but it feels written-in to please the audience rather than an authentic reflection of Bushnell. I can’t help but wonder, is this another persona created to hide the real woman?

Despite the delivery, the content is engaging and will thrill any fans of the show. Bushnell tells of her romance with the real Mr Big and plays a game of ‘real or not real’ asking the audience to guess whether she really met Matthew McConaughey in Hollywood, or dated a senator. She reveals the lessons she’s learned from relationships – which are, on the whole, quite sadly cynical: men lie; if you don’t do it someone else will; people in relationships see what they want to see. They are all delivered with a grin and appear tongue in cheek but are a pretty sad indictment of dating. The one point of hope is Bushnell’s thesis that despite the trials and tribulations of relationships with men, your girlfriends – your Mirandas, Charlottes and Samanthas – will always be there for you.

All in all Bushnell provides the entertainment for an enjoyable, if slightly twee, evening out with the women in your life. Best enjoyed after a big bottle of wine and a Cosmo or two.

TRUE TALES OF SEX, SUCCESS AND SEX AND THE CITY at the London Palladium

Reviewed on 7th February 2024

by Amber Woodward

 

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Previously reviewed at this venue:

DEATH NOTE – THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT | ★★★★ | August 2023

TRUE TALES OF SEX

TRUE TALES OF SEX

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