Review: KAREN, The Other Palace
Photo credit: Dylan Woodley
Protagonist is celebrating her 30th birthday at Alton Towers, eating a calippo with her boyfriend of four years, Joe. Life is pretty perfect…until Joe breaks up with her and starts dating another woman from the office, Karen. Karen. Karen! Protagonist begins to spiral through heartbreak and makes various attempts to ‘get over it’, ‘move on’ and ‘thrive’. But what happens when she finds herself stuck in the mud? What if the best way to move on is to embrace the mess?
KAREN first began as an idea for a 15-minute sketch, which was performed at the White Bear Theatre in 2021, and was then developed into a full 50-minute show. KAREN officially made its debut at the Hen and Chickens theatre in June 2023 to great success and has since performed at various venues across the UK, including Edinburgh Fringe, twice! This performance marks the show’s return to The Other Palace having previously performed at the venue last year.
Design wise, the set is practical and makes the best use of the space. Duck tape covered boxes are stacked on top of one another with a variety of wires dangling down from the top, beneath which hide the show's sparse number of props. The set, whilst useful to the actor on stage, isn’t particularly eye-catching or artistically interesting. Sure, it can be seen to reflect the state of Protagonist without detracting from Sarah Cameron-West’s writing or performance, but otherwise it is purely functional.
The same can be said for the costume, although we can appreciate it a bit more considering the fact that it aids the comedy in its ridiculousness. Additionally, the business casual outfit that Protagonist wears is pristine, which makes it hilariously ironic when juxtaposed with the state of mind that Protagonist is in. The choice to make Protagonist wear her ex’s shirt whilst running is also particularly genius, its oversized and hyper-masc aesthetic further aids the comedy, whilst inspiring a sense of pitiful empathy within the audience due to the fact that it is Joe’s shirt.
We think the choice to call the protagonist ‘Protagonist’ is perfect because (much like using a name like Jane Doe), it allows members of the audience to connect with her better and put themselves in her shoes, especially considering that the experience of going through a break up is pretty universal.
Speaking of which, the way this show addresses how to handle a break up is shockingly refreshing. Unlike in most typically chick-flick media, we don’t see the protagonist cry about it for a day with her girlfriends and then miraculously take on the world in the morning, nor do we see her hide from everyone and everything wallowing in self-pity. This show takes a more feminist and realistic approach: denial, avoidance, putting on fake self confidence and trying to keep it together whilst secretly enraged and dying inside, and, eventually, realising that the best way out is by feeling everything and honestly admitting that you don’t actually have anything figured out.
Yes, our protagonist is allowed to fall apart and to not know what is going on or what to do next, she’s allowed to be petty and at the end of the day, she’s given permission to scream at the world before even attempting to move on. The show happens over the course of three months. This is mentioned in one line, said in passing, which just further enhances the point of the show. The world of the play exists in time, but time is not the main point because time to recover from a breakup looks different to everyone.
In this sense, Cameron-West’s genius is in saying that break ups are ugly, painful and ultimately suck in every sense of the word and this is okay. It’s normal. It’s okay not to look or feel like a freshly ironed shirt, in time things will feel better if you take the time to embrace the suck. She gives the middle finger to the overly-fantasised and fickle romance genre and we are all for it.
Cameron-West is not only a talented writer, she is a master at comedic acting. She bravely embraces the comedy, which at times must be quite embarrassing for her to perform considering that she dances around the stage in a lacy thong at one point. She embodies her character to the full and lets her character be at the mercy of the wrath of her emotions. Everything from her facial expressions to her body movements has been carefully considered but it looks effortless. Her comedic timing is spot on and has us in hysterics throughout the show, and her ability to perform one-sided conversations is an art. Cameron-West's acting prowess enables this one-woman show to be well paced and fluid, allowing us to sit back and bask in her ability to confidently take up the full stage space.
Raw and fresh. Utterly hilarious whilst cathartically honest. Fundamentally fearless.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Megan O’Neill
KAREN plays at The Other Palace until 23 March, with further info here.
