REVIEW: JUST SAYIN’ by Tina Zucco / Blue Ink Entertainment at The Hope Theatre 12 – 14 August /Camden Fringe

‘a charming performance from Zucco, very characterful and engaging’ ★★★★

Zucco’s show begins in a comically disastrous speed dating episode. Quite sensibly she gives up on it and hopes to meet her Mr Right by other means. Without much ado, she spots a man who is handing out leaflets, asking for volunteers. Well, why wouldn’t she?  Her only problem being that it turns out to be a food bank for the homeless where she is encouraged to chat with the people in need. Whilst dating always has potential for fun in a play, this new development begins to ground the play in something more moving and profound.

The help she gives and the mistakes she makes are all logged, so too is her romance with the supervisor. It’s not all pretty, some of the stories from the street people are horrific but ultimately audiences are likely to learn something new, to understand a little about how some people become homeless and the fact that each of their story reveals that there are countless different reasons.

The show ends with an appeal for a contribution to a homeless charity ( https://beam.org/ ). Maybe not very many people contributed, perhaps many have their own pet charitable organisations, but it is easy to imagine that all of us would go home with a little more understanding of the problems facing people living on the street, which cannot be a bad thing.

Zucco is ably directed by Lara Cosmetatos, keeping a good attention to pace, physicality and bringing the best out of the actor.  It’s a charming performance from Zucco, very characterful and engaging.

Does the romance turn out well? Well, it is likely this show will get another run so you can find out the answer to that question. For information about future shows, follow the show on twitter (see below).

Images: Sian Elissa

JUST SAYIN’ by Tina Zucco

Produced by Blue Ink Entertainment

at The Hope Theatre 12 – 14 August /Camden Fringe

https://camden.ssboxoffice.com/events/just-sayin-by-tina-zucco/

Follow on twitter @Justsayin_play

Produced by Siân Elissa for the 2022 Camden Fringe.

Reviewed by Heather Jeffery, Editor of London Pub Theatres Magazine