A funny, moving and powerful look at a life that's out of control, in a strong one-woman performanceSummary
Rating
Excellent
Her friends call her Po. Some people call her Poo – “and not in an endearing way”. She’s a fun-loving 18-year-old on a night out with friends. So why is she discovered by the police hiding in the footwell of a Range Rover in the early hours of the morning?
To find out, we go back 37 hours to Posie at a club, avoiding her friend Sammy (whose party trick is that she can fit her whole hand in her mouth), and nursing her posh friend Charlotte who’s currently “spewing blue WKD onto the most expensive carpet Barnet has to offer”. Posie strongly dislikes Charlotte’s uncaring boyfriend Liam, partly because he calls her “Oh baby girl”. She ends up taking Charlotte home in an Uber (“I can’t get on the bus, the amount of plebs on it!”), before going home to her mum and wayward brother Jason, who won’t buy pink doughnuts “because they’re gay”.
Posie has a crush on schoolfriend Eddie Peters, with his “blond hair and green eyes – Hitler’s dream”, and admits that “technically I’m not a virgin – I let a nerdy guy called Arnie put it in a little bit”.
Becoming an unwilling accomplice to a drug deal involving Liam and her brother, which culminates in a fight in Sainsbury’s car park, leads to Posie’s arrest. She has to contend with a variety of police officers, as well as a privileged duty solicitor, while her mum advises her to “smile through the tough shit”.
There are twenty-one characters in total, all of them played by writer and performer Maeve O’Haire as she slips effortlessly between the parts. Her mastery of the role means that we’re never in doubt as to who she’s playing at any point; eschewing costume changes and props, the different characters are brought to life using accents, physical presence and manners of speech.
Infused with humour and pathos, the show moves between comedy and tragedy as the story unfolds. The jokes are plentiful and the emotions tangible in O’Haire’s accomplished hands.
Director Danny Beaton is also responsible for the sound design, which uses ambient sounds to locate the different scenes. But the scenes are interspersed by a seemingly random series of snippets from songs which appear to bear no relation either to the action or, given the age of some of the songs, to Posie’s possible life experience. At times, these songs obscure the speech, to detrimental effect.
The Behaviours of Posie Marshall is a powerful, engrossing and emotional journey through a life that’s entirely out of her control.
Writer/Producer/Performer: Maeve O’Haire
Director/Sound Designer: Danny Beaton
Lighting Designer: Chloé Teresa Wilson
Presented by: Giggle Riot Theatre
The Behaviours of Poise Marshall plays at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until May 8.
