Martha Watson Allpress’ one woman play about a female drug dealer is surprisingly relatable – not in the sense of selling banned substances, I hasten to add, but in terms of it being about a woman having a gradual breakdown as a result of a disrupted routine (us neurodivergent folk know the distress this can cause).
Another hit Edinburgh export picked up by the Bush Theatre, Allpress’ Lady Dealer is dizzyingly subversive with its poetry and audience’s expectations, director Emily Aboud has the us darting through tonal highs (stop it) and lows, and actor Alexa Davies has us in the palm of her hand as we go through the thrill ride together.
It was a day, Charly (Davies) tells us, that was meant to be the same as always – except what actually happens is she suffers a power cut and so cannot charge up her burner phone for her usual, day-to-day transactions. She stresses to us that she’s fine, but her lyrical and unrelenting delivery suggests otherwise. Indeed, Allpress – via Davies – has a rather prophetic ability to know what the audience is thinking, as Charly plays with our anticipation of a rhyme, and chastises us for any judgment we have of her lifestyle choices.
It, naturally, works well for comedy, too. The subversion of expectations in some lines not only keeping things unpredictable, but allowing for snappy and witty humour as a classic comedic device. There’s a remarkable rhythm to the whole piece, not just in a literal sense with the rhyming that’s going on (which, at times, does come across as flowery and a tad pretentious in its choices of vocabulary), but in the rise and fall of the punchlines, and the fast-paced monologuing from Charly in white hot lighting before she has the chance to sit in the spotlight and process how she’s really thinking.
She holds onto anything she can to provide the stability she so desperately seeks: the bitterness surrounding her break-up with her ex Chlo, the blasting of music at loud volume (before the aforementioned powercut), the yellow jumper and fairly lights belonging to Chlo, and McDonalds hash browns. Even the safety of the home soon crumbles when an Etonian drug user rocks up at the house for a supply, and Charly realises just how much of her life – practically every conversation – has become almost transactional above anything else. Davies evokes the emotion which comes with the collapse of these coping mechanisms – an unravelling through poetry – with heartbreaking and affecting depth.
It’s a punchy tale about the pressures of routine and expectation (even if the feminism angle around maternal disappointment and emphasising the lady in lady dealer feels underdeveloped), and the crutches we can use to handle it. Thrilling and profound, you could even say this play is a trip in itself.
★★★★
Lady Dealer is now playing at the Bush Theatre until 15 June.
A chilled performance is scheduled for 25 May, and the show will be captioned and audio described on 29 May and 5 June respectively.
Production Images: Harry Elletson.
Disclaimer: I was invited to watch ‘Lady Dealer’ for free in exchange for a review of the performance as a member of the press. I did not receive payment for this article and all opinions stated above are honest and my own.
Liam O'Dell 