Topless

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Topless

Category:	Drama
Author:	Miles Tredinnick
Publisher:	Matador
Price:	£7.99
ISBN:	1-905237-75-8
Pages:	44
Reviewed in issue:	2

Topless is a script of a one-woman show; London tour guide, Sandie, narrates the story of her marriage between pointing out landmarks. This is perhaps not the most effective method of telling Sandie’s story. Her reminiscences at times feel a little forced, and it is difficult to see what the snippets of London history add to the tale. It appears to me as if the writer was given a remit to set a play on a London sightseeing bus, but struggled to find an appropriate plot. Aside from the location, which does not seem integral to the story, there is no connection between London and Sandie’s marriage.

The play ends well with a completely unexpected, yet natural, twist that is both subtle and shocking. On the whole, once the audience is able to make the effort to suspend their disbelief and accept that Sandie genuinely is talking about her personal life to a group of strangers, it is an easy, undemanding comedy.

Despite all the modern references in Sandie’s monologue, her language feels quite dated, and it would take a talented actor in performance to make her a more than one-dimensional character. Finally, the few rather patronising stage directions could make this a rather irritating play for a director to stage.

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