Review: Candace Bushnell - True Tales of Sex, Success & SEX AND THE CITY, London Palladium - Tour
Candace Bushnell is perhaps better known as her on screen alter-ego, Carrie Bradshaw, the main character in popular HBO comedy drama series Sex and the City, which ran from 1998 – 2004 and stretched to two feature films.
True Tales of Sex, Success and SEX AND THE CITY is Bushnell’s one-woman show, telling of her own experiences which led to her writing the column ‘Sex and the City’ for the New York Observer in the 90’s. The piece leads us from her childhood, through her early days in New York, onto the success of the column, books and subsequent TV and film deals, to Candace’s life in the present day.
Now in her 60’s, Bushnell is a likeable and friendly personality and although perhaps not a natural storyteller, her source material is more than interesting enough to hold the audience through the two-hour performance. She highlights the many parallels from her own life that she wrote into Carrie’s story, including a love for shoes, cigarettes and New York City.
The set is made to look like the inside of a rather lavish apartment, with cube style shelving units filled with personal nik-naks and a lot of shoes! At one point, Bushnell mentions that they are all actually hers, and makes several references to designer footwear throughout her story. A pink velour sofa and a chrome drinks trolley make up the remainder of the set, and bright colourful lighting creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere on the large Palladium stage.
The autobiographical nature of the performance is helped along by moments of audience interaction, such as the game show style ‘Real or Not Real’ whereby we are encouraged to guess if a series of events actually happened or not. Our hostess’ conversational style makes the show feel more like a chat among friends than a conventional piece of theatre, and this warmth is endearing, particularly during some of the more personal anecdotes about divorce and mental health.
The show is fast paced; there is a lot to tell in a relatively short space of time and in places, this does make the narrative feel a little disjointed. Bushnell’s closing lesson is that your girlfriends are forever (men come and go), but we don’t truly get a sense of any close personal relationships with either friends or lovers, which would add a little more emotional depth to the production.
True Tales of Sex, Success and SEX AND THE CITY is a must see for fans of Candace Bushnell’s work, particularly Sex and The City. However, it feels more like a fond reminiscence of a small snapshot of time and place than a universally accessible experience.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Sarah Brown
True Tales of Sex, Success and SEX AND THE CITY is on tour until 16 February, with further information here.