REVIEW: Slippery When Wet at Baron’s Court Theatre 22 Aug-2 Sept 2023

‘an engaging story … fall out of your seat funny’★★★★

This one-woman show, written by and starring Leanne Devlin, has an oddly mundane core: a simple tale about falling in love with a co-worker in a supermarket of all places. But Devlin uses this instantly relatable setup to tell a thoughtful story about navigating the line between love and obsession.

Ironically, in defiance of its title, this show grips from the start. This is thanks to a well-structured narrative that keeps the story ticking along nicely, ensuring that there’s always some conflict ongoing, while Devlin’s performance is energetic throughout and always eye-catching in how she utilities the various cleaning supplies on-stage to both bring other characters to life as well as emphasize the comic absurdity of her character’s situation. These parts in particular are evidence of excellent collaboration between Devlin and director Emma Copland, and the show is much the better for them.

But while the tumultuous romance is well-paced it does lack one crucial ingredient – the audience is never given a chance to fall in love with the man at the heart of the play’s dramatic side in the same way the main character does. Love simply occurs five minutes into the play, and any description of the object of passion here is usually unflattering and for, quite enjoyable, comic effect. It might be an impossible challenge to get us as mad about him as our lead, but giving us more inkling as to how she’s fallen so hard for him wouldn’t hurt.

This then leads to the ending having its own highs and lows. The prelude to the final act, an uncomfortable waxing session, is fall out of your seat funny thanks to Devlin’s bombastic delivery, but what comes after tries to bring heart into the mix with uncertain results. There’s a feeling of too much neatness with a simple message of self-growth and acceptance that doesn’t feel wholly earned.

Still though, it satisfies as a happy ending for a character one naturally comes to root for. It’s this central success of the narrative overall, in getting us to buy into our heroine so much, that ensures this show delivers through great humour and an engaging story.

Slippery When Wet showing at Baron’s Court Theatre 22nd August-2nd September 2023

Box office: https://www.baronscourttheatre.com/slippery-when-wet

Written by Leanne Devlin

Directed by Emma Copland

Reviewed by Harry Conway