Post by @nataliagresty

Seen at Etcetera Theatre, Camden on November 19th 2024

3 stars – strong character performance of a jam-packed script

A one-woman show in a small black box theater above a Camden pub could hardly be a bad idea for an autumnal evening, no less so given it’s starring the multi-talented LAMDA graduate Kylie Brady. Brady takes it away as an equally talented medium Stella Estrella, as the eighth daughter (her twin sister having died) which prompted her developing her gift early on. Stella starts her séance workshop of sorts (gladly accepting coupon payments), journeying through eight different souls in one night – even experts can allegedly pull off a maximum three – yet, she doesn’t shy away from depicting how much of a curse it can be too.

Brady can definitely do it all: she can sing and dance, put on accents, impersonate a cat, speak Spanish, make us laugh. She snaps in and out of characters at lightning speed. Comedic, cartoonish roles suit her best, such as the posh British mother mocking her daughter’s haircut and cleanliness standards even from her grave, which is wonderfully executed.

Yet the storyline might be changing slightly too quickly; naturally, showcasing 8 characters within fifty minutes doesn’t allow for an awful lot of context or extensive character development, but little backstory can potentially ail the crafting of a complex personality. As Stella gradually begins to suffer, slow down her speedy monologue and succumb to the pressures of her family, we realize we don’t really know why, and the more and more different spirits talk to us, the more diffused the plot line appears. One can’t help but think that such versatile and rich, but at times incoherent writing would have worked perfectly for a sketch-like show, and Brady would easily excel in every light.

November 12th, 13th and 19th at 7pm

Running time: 60 minutes

Venue: Etcetera Theatre, Camden

Tickets and Info: www.etceteratheatrecamden.com 

Written by: Hannah O’Reilly and Kylie Brady

Directed by: Hannah O’Reilly