You would think that a one-woman show covering mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse and doomed relationships all set against the background of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, the place of her birth, would be a bit of a downer, but not so. Suzy Crothers treated us to an hour-long account of her fall and rise with an amazing amount of humour, songs, dances, video and puppetry – not to mention a nice cup of tea and a biscuit.
We knew we were in for an evening like no other when the pre-show briefing omitted any reference to mobile phone use, but encouraged audience members to do what made them comfortable, including getting up and leaving, collecting a cuppa from the dispensers outside or, even taking a nap. The actor said that some of the deepest sleeps she had ever experienced were in the theatre. Hopefully whilst she was in the stalls rather than performing.
For those of you who are too young to remember, the Troubles, as they were referred to at the time, and since, began in August 1969, when the British Army was deployed in the towns and cities of Northern Ireland to quell the sectarian violence, between the factions who wanted a united Ireland, mainly Catholics, and those who wished to stay in the United Kingdom, mainly Protestants. For the next thirty years the news programmes would show the daily bombings, shootings and other atrocities until we, on the mainland, became more or less immune to the shock, except when they were carried out on this side of the Irish Sea. I have just looked up the stats and was amazed to find that, during the period from August Bank Holiday, 1969 to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, there were more than 3,500 deaths, over 1,900 of which were civilians and about 45,000 injuries. One of the fatalities was a lad I went to school with who joined the army and was shot during the early days when we were about 20.
Suzy Crothers with Dad and Mum
Ms Crothers revealed that her upbringing was strange in that her father was a Protestant and her mother Catholic. When they married in 1972, this was not exactly well accepted in either community. Her main childhood recollection was in 1993, not being allowed to visit Funderland, an amusement park in Belfast, with her friends, in case of incident. She lost her temper with her mother resulting in mutual upset and the compromise of an evening in with Chinese chicken balls and a video of Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. The episode was reenacted with an animated row between them accentuated by a back projection of stills and videos of the rioting, bombs and shootings.
Fortunately, the only bombs in this community centre were of the ‘F’ variety, which were tossed around like confetti, for once, not only as expletives, but also as the term for the sex act itself, sometimes accompanied by more specific details.
Fast forward thirty years, and our hero is in Lisbon atop one of the many hills on a warm evening with the moon and stars above her and no worries, apart from wishing she was part of the wonderful city rather than an outsider, possibly a throw-back to her formative years in a mixed family.
On her return to London, she did what a lot of people do to prove to themselves that they are not totally inadequate as a person, and took a string of lovers, each of whom was shown in a slide presentation with emojis covering their faces and, in one case, an aubergine indicating – well – what aubergines are used to indicate.
She also took to drink and substances with not much help from the medical profession, instead having to rely on Big Red and Little Red, the voices of the imaginary people sitting on her shoulders. The former, sounding like the Unionist politician during the troubles, Ian Paisley, telling her what to do and the latter, a version of the Republican Gerry Adams, ‘effing things up’. She also had frequent phone conversations with an American named Martha, a neat twist, revealed at the end. As an aside, I don’t think that an appropriate mobile ring tone for an alcoholic is The Champs old song, Tequila!
The essence of the show was the performance element, something which was executed to perfection. It covered everything from heartbreak and the contentment of finding true love, to erotic dancing with the assistance of a fold-up chair. You call that twerking, Megan? this is how its done.
I was generously given permission to take photographs during the performance, but it was so intimate and audience inclusive that it didn’t feel appropriate, so I just sneaked one and put my phone away.
I am more than delighted to include a spoiler in that Suzy Crothers is alive, well and seemingly at peace with herself; had she not been we would have been denied one of the most special evenings I have enjoyed in a long time. Oh, and my first Wagon Wheel for years!
Troubled, written and performed by Suzy Crothers, Produced by Rachael Halliwell and Directed by Amie Burns-Walker continues its tour on Saturday, 21st June at London Irish Centre, Camden, after which it moves to Summerhall, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 31st July – 25th August before moving on to Belgrade Theatre, Coventry on 10th September and Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, Sheffield on 4th November. For more information and tickets go to https://www.suzycrothers.com where you can also find out more about this wonderful artist.
Tyke It To The Limit 