REVIEW: Discos Are Back! (Not The Crisps)

‘Donna Disco’ by Lee Mattinson
at The Live Theatre
Tuesday 17^th - Saturday 21^st January 2012
Presented by Chicken Pox Fox Productions

When I phoned the box office for a ticket for Donna Disco I was put on a waiting list, as the last 3 nights were sold out. Firstly I thought ‘Wow this must be good’ then I remembered that I didn’t have a ticket! Gutted. I was sitting down in my room for what would be a cold and lonely evening when the box office rang and said they had a ticket for me – so I put on my best cardigan and headed down to the quayside.

The fact that Donna Disco was sold out for the majority of its run at the Live Theatre speaks for itself. Maybe it was clever marketing or Live Theatre’s excellent reputation for putting on great plays. But I think it was down to people power; people saying ‘OMG this show is AMAZE! You should DEFFO go see it!’ I’m going to say the same thing to you.

Although I expected quality I didn’t know exactly in what form it would take. The audience entered the auditorium greeted with the hand out of big geeky glasses and a party popper, already I was excited! The set was basic with a desk, a few chairs and a lamp, but that is all we needed because when Paula Penman, playing fourteen year old Donna, took to the stage she lit up the space with colour and imagination.

The play is only around an hour long but it was enough to feel I had gone on a journey with Donna and connected with the story. It’s a remarkable achievement to have a one woman show and yet I knew the other characters in her story so well. But this isn’t just a one woman show; the collaboration between writer, actor and director really shone through and complemented the overall look and flow of the piece. The words, written by Lee Mattinson, were inch perfect, timed excellently by Paula Penman and put into action seamlessly by director Laura Lindow. It is a winning formula and one I would hope Chicken Pox Fox carry on to future productions.

I must say I started off a bit wary of how to react to Donna but five minutes in I felt reassured to just relax and enjoy. I experienced the highs and lows with Donna, I laughed and cried, and judging by the wet-faced standing ovation at the close I expect my fellow audience went through exactly the same. So I guess what’s left to say is ‘OMG this show is AMAZE! You should DEFFO go see it!’