MY BRILLIANT DIVORCE. By Geraldine Aron. Performed by Kate Normington. Directed by Alan Committee. Theatre on the Bay.
MEGAN CHORITZ reviews
Kate! Kate, you beauty. You are the best.
It is no secret that this reviewer has been in a dark place. I had to force myself to the theatre and, honestly, I didn’t believe I was capable of having a good time. But Kate Normington worked her magic, and I left the theatre with an enormous grin on my face. And a lightness in my step, and a glimmer of hope that I can still love theatre and be moved by it.
I believe Geraldine Aron’s script has had a revamp, and it is very cute, and kinda quaintly funny, but between Kate Normington’s performance and Alan Committee’s direction they have elevated the script and made a most sophisticatedly funny show. In fact, Kate Normington could have been using a grocery list as the script and it would have been brilliant.
Pitch perfect
Her Angela is quick, witty, self-deprecating, cute, clumsy, awkward, charming, seductive, brutally honest, a bit of a fibber, and totally, completely relatable. Each lightning-fast mood swing, change of subject or switch of opinion is delightful, fresh and delicious. It’s also not all funny. There are moments of sadness, whimsical nostalgia, bitterness and anger – all the highs and lows that come with the end of a marriage. And then Kate takes on the voices and characteristics of the other people that populate Angela’s life. Her daughter, her cleaner and her cleaner’s sister, her doctor, her ex-husband’s two girlfriends and her mother are slid into and coloured in with brilliant accents and excellent physicality.
Kate takes over the stage, fills it with warmth, keeps constant contact with us, the audience, and delivers a pitch perfect performance that made me love live performance again. And I wasn’t the only one. The entire audience adored her.
What: My Brilliant Divorce
Where and when: Theatre on the Bay from 4 to 16 November 2024
Tickets: Webtickets
WS
