ajhlovestheatre

LADY DEALER

by Martha Watson Allpress

directed by Emily Aboud

Bush Theatre Studio, London – until 15 June 2024

https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/lady-dealer/

Existential despair and rambunctious comedy make unusual but intriguing bedfellows, and Lady Dealer, an acclaimed hit at last years Edinburgh Festival and now back on stage at one of London’s most consistently high quality venues, typifies this. We know we are in for something with a bit of edge as soon as we enter the Bush’s studio space to the sound of aggressive urban music and first glimpse Jasmine Araujo’s grungy set of upturned giant loudspeakers, loose wires and domestic detritus (a full ashtray, a discarded mug) but this seventy five minute play goes on to spring several surprises. One of the most prominent of these being that most of it is in verse.

This sparky almost-monologue, still featuring same stellar actor, Alexa Davies, who won plaudits first time around, starts off as cheeky comedy, almost stand-up except that when we first encounter motor-mouthed drug dealer Charly she’s lying down, then hunched over, retching. Although writer Martha Watson Allpress doesn’t pull any punches – Charly is confrontational (or “ratchet…raggedy and likeable” as the text has it) in her direct address to the audience but endearing enough to get away with it, and clearly extremely smart, both intellectually and in terms of the street – the gritty humour of the set-up wrongfoots us, as the play ends up examining the loneliness, disillusion and societal pressures on modern young people. Its lack of judgement is refreshing, and its compassion enriches the overall experience.

Having read some of the playtext before watching, I wondered if I had spoilt for myself a revelation in the latter stages of the piece. It turns out I needn’t have worried: the surprise, such as it is, feels like a bit of a non sequitur, although it’s nicely done. Anyway, if you’re in the habit of buying a programme/playtext maybe don’t look at it until after the show. Emily Aboud’s production has a lot going for it.

Chief amongst its pleasures is Alexa Davies as the titular lady dealer. A gifted comedienne with a natural rapport with the audience, Davies also skilfully hints at the unease and isolation beneath Charly’s cocky exterior, before achieving real pathos when it becomes clear just how troubled and anxious her life actually is. She’s hugely impressive and totally convincing.

Personally, I felt slightly less convinced by the script Davies is delivering. Watson Allpress shows genuine talent for writing comedy, describes some of the more unhealthy aspects of Charly’s existence with grim relish, and throws some interesting if not consistently plausible curveballs, the main point of which seems to be a warning not to judge a book by its cover (Charly is Oxbridge educated and completely upfront with her feminist mum about how she makes her living). It just doesn’t ring entirely true though, despite Aboud’s pacy, inventive staging and Davies’s top tier performance, and ultimately it’s not clear quite what the point of the story is, and the line into pretension gets crossed when the play seeks to become serious.

Watching a performer as good as Davies at close quarters is always a treat though, and the production has a bracing theatricality that commands the attention. You may not leave the theatre feeling any more enlightened than you did going in, but Lady Dealer is so short, and Davies so fine, that the show never outstays its welcome. At its best, it’s absolutely hilarious.