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The Indecent Musings Of Miss Doncaster 2007

Lion and Unicorn Theatre

Reviewed – 10th August 2019

★★★½

“Some lines are stellar but the occasional too-easy joke could be lost without ill effect”

2007 was a big year. The first iPhone hit the shelves, as did the last Harry Potter book. We got Gordon Brown as PM. And, in Doncaster, our ‘Miss Donny’ is crowned Miss Doncaster, with the sash and tiara to prove it. A starry start indeed – but The Indecent Musings of Miss Doncaster 2007 shows what happens next. And, spoiler alert: this is where the glamour ends.

The one-hander, written and performed by Annabel York, spans confessional, spoken word and stand-up, and although just how biographical it is isn’t clear, it’s hard not to see it as intimate. Staging (design by Elle Loudon) supports this; lighting and choreography are exceptional. The sound design (Jacob Welsh) is terrific; scenes of Donny dancing work brilliantly, with clever and thoughtful music choices and just the odd scene where the sound levels are awry and we struggle to follow York’s quickfire delivery.

Sound effects are also strong. The gentle hiss and suck of Donny’s father’s ventilator in the quieter moments she spends beside him (and the staggering silence that follows once it’s turned off) are particularly poignant. Given that the use of props is almost non-existent, effects do the hard yards in giving us a sense of place.

In the same vein, Rebecca Loudon’s skill in direction is clear, especially in the detail that sets up each scene – the clever little adjustments to the office chair height that tell us that Donny is once again slouched at the desk at her ghastly office job, for example.

Naturally in any solo show all eyes are on the performer, and the clearly-talented York doesn’t disappoint. Primarily a comic piece, almost all scenes are played for laughs. This is perhaps a shame, as York’s excellent and nuanced acting gets a fuller airing in the few emotionally-charged scenes. Make no mistake, though – York is incredibly funny, and throws herself around to terrific effect. We’re introduced to a cast of characters through her, not least the pageant queen persona, Miss Doncaster 2007, herself.

Garbed in the full regalia of evening gown, pink sash and twinkly crown, it’s this version of Donny that opens and closes the production. This deadens the night’s impact just a little; the opening scene is one of the weakest of all and the all-smiles characterisation of Donny’s showbiz embodiment is less affecting and harder to like. After the journey Donny has gone on, it feels reductive, too, to return to the crown and fixed grins at the end.

Generally, the whirlwind of Donny’s chaotic life can risk feeling a bit one-note; exploration of the emotional impact of some of her fraught sexual encounters, for example, including ones where her dates’ behaviours are downright abusive, is lacking. These disastrous, drunken dates are suggestive of Donny’s vulnerability but that gets lost when they’re unrelentingly played for laughs. This is a pity, as a message about female fragility and strength is suggested throughout (it can’t be an accident that empowering tracks by feminist superstars Lizzo and Janelle Monáe feature).

Scripting could also stand to be just a touch tighter. Some lines are stellar but the occasional too-easy joke (‘I call a spade a spade… unless it’s a shovel’) could be lost without ill effect, and a little more light and dark introduced into those more frenetically active scenes.

Raw emotion does come, though, as we see grief take over from nights out on the town, and it’s here that the performance really sings. Our Donny may not be the darling of Doncaster, crown and all, any more. But a new kind of stardom may just beckon – and she’ll be ready.

Reviewed by Abi Davies

The Indecent Musings Of Miss Doncaster 2007

Camden People’s Theatre until 10th August as part of Camden Fringe 2019

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

The Absolute Truth About Absolutely Everything | ★★★ | May 2018

A Fortunate Man | ★★★½ | June 2018

Le Misanthrope | ★★½ | June 2018

Did it Hurt? | ★★★ | August 2018

Hot Flushes – The Musical | ★★★ | June 2019

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

★★★★

“Bower’s script, and indeed the show as a whole, are already in a pretty strong and exciting place”

Swimming is a common trope in the telling of gay stories. Think the Hampstead Men’s Pond in Alan Hollinghurst’s “The Line of Beauty”, David Hockney’s “Peter Getting Out of Nick’s Pool (1966)” and the pool-side antics in coming-of-age films from “Call Me By Your Name” to “Y Tu Mamá También”. Alex Bower’s memorable new play draws on this rich cultural heritage to create a gripping and probing hour of drama.

Dan (Andrew Hawley) has just said so long to girlfriend of three years Marianne (Harriet Green) and the two are fairly irreconcilable. She moves in with Dan’s best friend and trusty furniture-builder Ant (Jack Helsby) whilst Dan rekindles a long-forgotten desire for the male sex and starts dating Sam (Patrick Cavendish). Struggling with years of keeping in the closet, Dan begins to construct a new identity for himself – one free of the friends and girlfriends that have pigeon-holed him his whole life.

This run is described as an opportunity to “get the show on its feet” with intentions to develop it further, but Bower’s script, and indeed the show as a whole, are already in a pretty strong and exciting place. Bower has created four rich and detailed characters, and he asks some intriguing questions about how we approach the spectrum of sexuality. When Ant stumbles across Sam and Dan at the lido, Bower captures well the awkwardness of two sides of a personality colliding. Dan’s been straight his whole life, how can he suddenly decide he’s gay?

With just four stools and some neat shifts in lighting, Rebecca Loudon’s direction is reminiscent of Jamie Lloyd’s current work at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Minimal and sparse, the relationships between characters are crucial. Luckily Loudon has a excellent ensemble working together effortlessly.

Moving forward, work could be done to make these characters more like people with histories than mere “types”. Ant in particular feels well rounded and detailed, but Green and Cavendish are given a little less meat to chew on. I’m left contemplating the meaning of that title too. That aside, this is a promising new piece of work that ought to be seen even at this early stage of development.

Reviewed by Joseph Prestwich

Photography by Alex Brenner

Lion and Unicorn Theatre

Reviewed – 10th August 2019

★★★½

“Some lines are stellar but the occasional too-easy joke could be lost without ill effect”

In the same vein, Rebecca Loudon’s skill in direction is clear, especially in the detail that sets up each scene – the clever little adjustments to the office chair height that tell us that Donny is once again slouched at the desk at her ghastly office job, for example.

Scripting could also stand to be just a touch tighter. Some lines are stellar but the occasional too-easy joke (‘I call a spade a spade… unless it’s a shovel’) could be lost without ill effect, and a little more light and dark introduced into those more frenetically active scenes.

Raw emotion does come, though, as we see grief take over from nights out on the town, and it’s here that the performance really sings. Our Donny may not be the darling of Doncaster, crown and all, any more. But a new kind of stardom may just beckon – and she’ll be ready.

Reviewed by Abi Davies

The Indecent Musings Of Miss Doncaster 2007

Camden People’s Theatre until 10th August as part of Camden Fringe 2019

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

White Bear Theatre

Reviewed – 30th April 2019

★★★★

“Bower’s script, and indeed the show as a whole, are already in a pretty strong and exciting place”

Reviewed by Joseph Prestwich

Photography by Alex Brenner

Swimming

White Bear Theatre until 4th May

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: