Hailey McAfee (Photo by Rosie Glen-Lambert)
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
Broadwater Black Box
Through August 11
RECOMMENDED
Welsh playwright Gary Owen’s bleak one-act monologue debuted in 2015 during a period of severe austerity reductions in the United Kingdom precipitating a lot of economic and social distress among the poor and working classes. It is in this time of trouble that we meet Effie (Hailey McAfee), first seen on a bare stage seated in the middle of a small row of chairs. Effie is brash and unapologetic (“I live my life a million miles an hour”), as she takes the audience through a few months in a life that is locked in an endless battle against diminishment and misfortune.
We learn of starting the days with drink or drugs — or both; three-day hangovers; a string of “fuck and dumps,” a 70-year-old relative who, instead of enjoying a stable retirement, has to return to the workforce; once familiar places in her dilapidated Cardiff town of Splott — a pub, a small store, houses — gone forever, and much needed social services gutted. And then there are the moments of respite that emerge from barhopping with a friend or friends.
Effie’s more vulnerable side is revealed when she hooks up with an ex-soldier who was badly maimed, and between them there seems to be a meaningful connection — “I want to be his better half,” she states pensively — until there isn’t. The brief relationship is a pivotal point in the narrative, as harsh realities about the impact of cuts on health care services emerge.
Effie is a character who beckons, despite her vulgarity and granite-hard edges, and McAfee and director Rosie Glen-Lambert do a persuasive job of bringing her to life. Oddly, there are times when her performance doesn’t achieve convincing emotional resonance, but that doesn’t detract from what is a solid performance. Russel Chow’s lighting provides an effective accent for this production.
The Attic Collective, The Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood. Fri.-Sat., 6:30 pm, Sin., 3 pm; thru Aug. 11. bit.ly/insplott Running time: one hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.
