Tag Archives: Lucy Hayes

THE SIMPLE LIFE & DEATH

★★★★★

Pleasance Theatre

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THE SIMPLE LIFE & DEATH at the Pleasance Theatre

★★★★★

“spot-on comedic timing delivers the infinite number of stunning one-liners”

When Paris Hilton wrote the song Stars Are Blind, she was manifesting the divine power that brought the creators of The Simple Life & Death together. How do you create a show that is wildly niche while still making the entire audience feel included on the joke? You do it exactly like this.

The Simple Life & Death, created by Shane ShayShay Konno and Fizz Sinclair, is a masterclass in camp theatre that makes you laugh to the extent where you become deeply concerned for your own health. The performance is set in a current day TV studio on the Arkansas farm where The Simple Life, the noughties reality series starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, was filmed from 2003 to 2007. At the top of the show, it is established that we are the studio audience for the live reunion special of the iconic TV series. We are introduced to Paris (Shane ShayShay Konno) and Nicole (Fizz Sinclair) in velour Juicy Couture tracksuits and blonde wigs. They are joined by surprise celebrity guests who, through rapid costume changes, are all brilliantly portrayed by Sinclair.

The set design (Ray Gammon) features pink directors’ chairs, a large haybale, film cameras and a neon ON AIR sign. What starts off as a delightful reunion with Paris, Nicole and friends quickly turns dark when one of the cast members is MURDERED. Cue the terrifying lightning and thunder. This incites Paris’ hunt for the killer so she may prove her innocence before she “gets cancelled by Gen Z on Tik-tok”. With the culprit in the studio, Paris starts interviewing all the celebrities turned suspects. Who dunnit?

This performance uses drag, sketch comedy, music and a satisfying amount of British panto elements to give us a highly original take on a murder mystery. Paris and Nicole welcome the audience and introduce their lovely assistant, Twinkerbell (Aïsha Kent) who is also the legit stage manager for the show, instilling the notion that the performers are appearing as themselves in various drag and comedy personas. They play with this throughout the evening as Twinkerbell facilitates scene changes for Konno and Sinclair who make off the cuff comments to the audience. It’s impressive how effortlessly they navigate between the narrative and sincere acknowledgments of self-awareness, thereby creating an immersive space. We are all in on the joke.

The ingenuity of the writing is effortlessly carried by Konno and Sinclair. Their spot-on comedic timing delivers the infinite number of stunning one-liners, all accessible to the audience with their varied references from Y2K nostalgia to current day pop culture. Some include Legally Blonde, White Lotus and Ghost Hunting with Girls Aloud. This diversity in the text allows the past and present to come together in a celebration of shared memories between audience members, further immersing us in the performance space. The sound design (Eliyana Evans) is also employed to create this shared familiarity through sounds from recognisable TV series such as X-Factor, Judge Judy and American Horror Story. The dramaturgical frame of the fictional TV special is continuously reinforced through ‘filming’ breaks and reoccurring parodical product placements for Paris’ numerous entrepreneurial endeavours.

Seamlessly moving between wholesome, witty and irreverent, Konno and Sinclair are consistently funny. With fabulous costumes, hysterical singing outbursts and mesmerising stage presence they deliver a truly remarkable display of showmanship. Creating an inclusive and immersive performance that could put top comedians to shame, Konno and Sinclair are masters of their craft. We can only hope that their collaboration continues. In the meantime, do yourself a courtesy and RUN to see The Simple Life & Death. It’s really hot.


THE SIMPLE LIFE & DEATH at the Pleasance Theatre

Reviewed on 28th November 2024

by Lara van Huyssteen

Photography by Lucy Hayes

 

 


 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

16 POSTCARDS | ★★★ | October 2024
GIRLS REALLY LISTEN TO ME | ★★★★ | May 2024
GISELLE: REMIX | ★★★★★ | April 2024
GWYNETH GOES SKIING | ★★★ | February 2024
CASTING THE RUNES | ★★★ | October 2023
DIANA: THE UNTOLD AND UNTRUE STORY | ★★★★ | November 2022
DIRTY CORSET | ★★½ | April 2022
SHE SEEKS OUT WOOL | ★★★★ | January 2022
DOG SHOW | ★★★★★ | December 2021
LIGHTS OUT | ★★★★ | October 2021

THE SIMPLE LIFE

THE SIMPLE LIFE

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

 

PLEADING STUPIDITY

★★★

New Wimbledon Theatre

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PLEADING STUPIDITY at the New Wimbledon Theatre

★★★

“absurd and delightful in equal measure”

Pleading Stupidity is, as the title suggests, ever so silly.

From Maybe You Like It Productions, this is the true story of two very stupid boys (classic) on their gap year (very classic) working in a small skiing town in Colorado (also pretty classic), who underestimate the excitement such a town provides, and rashly decide upon robbing a bank for some extracurricular fun (a little less classic).

The story itself screams comedy: the case was solved in eight minutes owing to the titular stupidity of these Australian students-cum-bank robbers – inspired by Patrick Swayze in Point Break. But, unlike their hero, they lack common sense in all its forms. Chad (Jamie De Villiers) and Brad (Robert Merriam) end up holding bank workers Kelly (Lili Herbert) and Anna (Ellie Jay Cooper) at BB-gun point, still wearing their name tags from work, and dressed in skiing attire. The only Australians in town, there is never any mystery to solve, and they are quickly caught and arrested. But such unrelenting idiocy is a source of great hilarity, in which no comic stone is left unturned. Whilst there is some discussion of the dubiousness of their defence (stupidity) helped largely by being young, white men from Australia, this show is not really a commentary on the justice system, or male incompetence. It is purely a very amusing romp through this ridiculous crime, in which any seriousness is subsumed into delightful absurdity.

This four-person multi-rolling cast is fabulous as they charge across the stage manically, darting from character to character, in the likeness of those free electrons in metals which conduct energy really quickly (credits to GCSE Chemistry). The show is frenetic in the best way, and your attention is easily maintained throughout.

Pleading Stupidity has a delicious self-consciousness to it, harnessing meta-theatrical commentary wherever possible. From the start, the characters bicker over who should deliver exposition, and announce the coming of the next dramatic montage. It’s all wonderfully inventive, squeezing absolutely all it can out of its small inventory of props and cast members.

The stage is sparse, relying upon four multifunctional boxes to indicate different settings. But these are utilised with much success, as, for example, a pretzel stand seamlessly becomes a toilet then into an airport desk, and back to a pretzel stand. Props and costume are also subtly employed to indicate character changes, to great (and comic) effect.

As delightfully silly as this show is, I do wonder if it has a life that is sustainable or suitable outside of fringe settings. On its regional tour, this London stint took place in the New Wimbledon Theatre’s studio space, which is used to showcase new writing. This suited the piece very well. But the lack of emotional depth and the slightly confused ending does leave the show without much lasting impact. As clever and watchable as this irreverent play is, there is a notable absence in what it seeks to achieve, and its ending feels a little anticlimactic.

That said, Pleading Stupidity is absurd and delightful in equal measure. It’s not Beckett, but it is great fun, and a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

 


PLEADING STUPIDITY at the New Wimbledon Theatre then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 8th October 2024

by Violet Howson

Photography by Lucy Hayes

 

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN | ★★ | April 2024

PLEADING STUPIDITY

PLEADING STUPIDITY

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page