Review: The Struggling Life of an Artist (Rating 4/5)
While the title of the play may sound like an intense plea for audiences to acknowledge the pain behind the persona of the average performa, the reality of this production is anything but that.
It’s a brutally honest, but self-deprecating and humorous show that combines satire, musical pastiche and pinpoint accuracy of observation to deliver an honest critique of what it’s like to be a female starting out in the male-dominated environment of the creative industries.
Olivia is a writer of horror fiction, who is told that her books would have a real chance of being a success if she could just release them under a masculine alias. Her housemate Jessica, has had four years of drama training and countless hours of practicing monologues in order to be invited to take off her top at auditions and play on her sexuality.
Their dilemma is whether or not to compromise their integrity for the thing that could get them their big break or at least lead to an income that would mean they’d no longer be relying on bail outs from the bank of mum and dad, or whether to resist the pressure and stay true to their goals even if it’s likely to lead to a life of short term jobs where they have to pretend to really enjoy serving dysfunctional customers.
Xiomara Meyer, who wrote the play and takes the part of Olivia, and Tamalynne Grant, who directs and plays Jessica, are both drawing on their own experiences in this production. They crank up the absurdity factor to drive home the point, but do so in a way that is always entertaining rather than preaching and that, through the quality of the writing, acting and directing, demonstrates just why the stereotypes not only no longer hold true, but were never really accurate to begin with.
C Aqulia, 2 to 26 August (not 13 or 20)
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