[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Trust Me I’m from Essex wrtten and performed by Lindsay Lucas-Bartlett, and directed by Lindsay Perry as part of the Whitefire Theatre’s Solofest series.
Lindsay Lucas-Bartlett has the kind of slow-burn comedic style that sneaks up on you when you least expect it. She is absolutely hilarious and very, very clever. But, it’s so laid back and subtle that it almost feels as if she’s hardly working for it at all…except that’s the beauty of her…funny without even trying.
Proudly English, proudly an Essex girl, but fully rejecting the stereotypical Essex type. As a Brit, I am probably much more aware of what this is. A Chav, booze-binging, loud-mouthed, caked-on makeup, blonde, big-boobed etc, etc. Lindsay is definitely not this. But she utilizes the comparison to great effect as she guides us through her life, from childhood to now, with many fascinating, keenly observed, and often cunningly funny pauses of observation on the way.
Her parents, her friends, her boyfriends, Catholic school, nothing is out of bounds…thankfully. She also has a delightful habit of bursting into song, or more accurately setting poignant moments in her life to song. She’s a bit too irreverent for the word ‘bursting’ I think.
Lindsay Lucas-Bartlett has created a wonderful, crushingly funny, vividly real and touching show about herself. She carries us along as she wisely flits from heartbreak to sarcasm, from the unresolved to the-power-through-it and from her darkest times to her total triumphs.
She is a self-made woman. She created the life she wanted and made it her own. Manifesting is too flimsy a word for it. She simply strode toward the life she imagined. And while she did she brilliantly skewered herself, her family and her odd assortment of friends and boyfriends.
Solo shows are inherently inspiring. But the best stay with you. Even when you least expect them too. Trust Me I’m from Essex is still spinning around in my head. And not just because I’m English.
The show is an honest remembrance of a life. A window into a familiar and stirring soul. Awkward, unsure, pushing on despite setbacks, and unfounded insecurities…aren’t they always though? Life can be blindly and indiscriminately cruel. Things can happen for no reason at all and send us reeling. It’s how we get through them that makes us who we are.
Lindsay Lucas-Bartlett is bloody hilarious because of everything that has been her life so far. The good and the horrible. I can see how she might create so much more for herself. She is quietly, brazenly talented.
Honestly, I think she could do anything now…and I can’t wait to see what that is! bravo!!!
https://www.lindsaylucasbartlett.com/ | https://www.whitefiretheatre.com/