The Stage

Lifecoach

Published Tuesday 27 May 2008 at 19:10 by Derek Smith

Often, the UK ‘name’ in a production does everything to appear as unrecognisable as possible from their familiar TV/film persona - accents and all. But very refreshingly in Lifecoach, the laid-back comedy character which Phill Jupitus adopts successfully on the likes of Never Mind the Buzzcocks is pretty much what you get here too. And it’s a great vehicle for Jupitus, even if his role of Colin, a cliched, overpaid and garishly attired lifecoach, is unlikely to stretch his theatrical skills much. Even given his consummate skills as a comedian - try and spot any ad-libbing - what really makes this 70 minutes a success is the chameleon performance of Amy Darcy as the initially scatter-brained, confused and trod-upon PA Wendy.

Asked to list her personal strengths by Colin as one of her first steps to creating a ‘personal development sandwich’, she includes tea-making and breathing - their initial banter makes for an impressive double act. It’s not long before the mood is darkened though when a few demons are conjured up from Wendy’s past, while the confession from Colin that his wife left him for a fishmonger is both sad and hilarious.

Like a fringe theatre pantomime, there’s a couple of nasty characters you want to boo at every appearance, such as Wendy’s deceitful boyfriend Alex, played by Tim Plester - a character who wouldn’t share his last Rolo with anyone. And there’s the hyperactive office ‘dragon’ Fiona - played perfectly by Katarina Olsson.

It’s Jupitus’ and Darcy’s show though, and come the end, the professional and personal tables fully turned, it’s been a pretty funny and quite emotional journey. And, at just over an hour, a well judged and rewarding one to have taken.