Ever heard of a small-time theatre hiding in the basement of a pub? Well, that’s exactly what Barons Court Theatre is. And where I was invited to watch One Year Itch, the new laugh-out-loud LGBTQ comedy by Andrew Phipps. A brand new and interesting experience for me that only makes you appreciate local and small-scale theatre even more.
One Year Itch follows the lesbian love(less) life of Tania (the award-winning Anca Vaida) as she searches for her next potential girlfriend after an awful breakup, but she just can’t seem to hook the right fish in the sea – sometimes not even a lesbian, or even a female! Along the way she laments to her flatmate and friend Jayne who Tania, despite not being a dating expert, helps navigate a new relationship for, and she works hard to gain a promotion at work. But whether through coincidence, circumstance or chance, Tania soon vows that she’ll abstain from sex until she gets her promotion, which she anticipates as time goes on will be about a year.
It’s tenterhooks for the audience as Tania’s ultimate dream girl appears near the end of her dry spell in a “will or won’t she make it?” situation. One Year Itch is a hilarious and often very relatable play that so many of us who have been through the seemingly endless cycle of bad dates – especially through dating apps and other means – could say “been there done that”. And not just the LGBTQ community either.
With scenes tied together by music from gay icons such as Cher, Whitney Houston, Madonna and M People which the cast boogie along to as they arrange the scenery, perfect comedic timing and real, natural acting, what wasn’t there to like?
Fronted by an all-female and non-binary cast, and written by Andrew for Awkward Branch Productions, the only one thing I would lament about One Year Itch is that its run at Barons Court Theatre lasted only less than a week. However, he has informed me that there are hopes and plans to bring it back to more audiences in the future – and it would be a shame if more people don’t get the chance to see it…
Rating: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 (5/5)
If you have a show or event you wish me to attend and review, please don’t hesitate to contact me below. Please bear in mind that while I can very often attend to them in both Greater Manchester (or the northwest) and London, other areas of the UK are not always feasible or practical for me to travel to.
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