★★★★
Vicky Oxley bursts onto the stage as Maggie, a fast-talking bundle of nerves and blunt, hilarious observation. We see her longing to get up on the stage of the local Liverpool bar The Blue Anchor, alongside Cilla Crack, and Pelvis Presley, but her grief and anxiety holds her back.
Maggie’s loss of her gran leads her to see a therapist, who helps her confront her crippling OCD, her panic attacks and problematic relationship with her mother and sister.
Maggie is never the victim, nor is she saintly; she’s rude, blunt, gets things wrong. She’s an unapologetically working-class everywoman, in the vein of Shirley Valentine or Julie Walters in Bennett’s Her Big Chance.
The switch between Maggie’s interior life and the bar-room singers is often welcome, a nice bracketing of scenes, but sometimes it can become a little distracting. Perhaps other people need more breathing space than I do.
The fact this brilliantly observed monologue is by One Madam Productions, as in one person mounting the entire production, is nothing short of astounding. It’s well-written with a great performance, but it also does something more. It shows a woman battling generational trauma, OCD and panic attacks in a very real and raw way. It’s an important piece of work, and something the fringe needs more of.
Vicky Oxley is a singular talent and I can’t wait to see what she does next!
Stayin’ Alive is on at The Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, (Blether) until August 31st
