This one-woman show has the audience get up close and personal with Candace Bushnell, who delivers her personally-written script where she tells her life story and how it influenced her book-turned-smash-hit-tv-series Sex and the City.
What is evident throughout this fun light-hearted evening is that Bushnell is a talented writer with a knack for painting vivid and relatable pictures with her tongue stuck firmly in her cheek. A little self-indulgent at times (though frankly, isn't that the point?), the script reads like a magazine article or your wittiest friend entertaining you with yet another unbelievable anecdote over cocktails. She gives a delightfully unfiltered insight into what her life was like as a young woman trying to make it in New York, explaining how her own life influenced the stories she went onto tell of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha.
The delivery of this brilliant writing, however, leaves much to be desired. Arguably, this is her life and her words and perhaps the authenticity of the piece would be lost without her presence, but with the clear intent to bring the audience in as a friend, we occasionally feel a little patronised. Oftentimes feeling like a primary school assembly, much of the script is over-exaggerated with flare that what shock a pantomime dame!
The set is absolutely perfect - providing a homey feel with hints of glamour, it sets the scene perfectly for an evening of cosmopolitan comfort. Excellent, too, is the sound design, with girl-power numbers littered throughout as well as the iconic musical stings from the series, not to mention the evolution of ringtones as we move through Candace's life with her. The technical sides of this production really are a triumph.
Performance and occasional out-of-touch moments aside (which speaks more to how life as a 30-something woman has changed so much in the last few decades), this is a lovely evening with a strong underlying message of feminism, the importance of independence, and the ultimate power of women!
Surely a must-see for all SATC fans, it continues to tour the UK until 16th February.
Review: Penny Lane