Lita is a one woman show performed by an actor (only listed by her first name, Lucy) telling us stories of her grandmother, Gloria Hoyle. The actor presents a number of recollections and tales from her grandmother’s life in a fast-paced comedic piece that shows off her considerable skills as a performer. She makes clever use of a number of pieces of material hung on a washing line at the back of the stage to create a cartoony world of big characters and slapstick events.

The actor’s overly manic, breathless energy, however, often detracts from the focus of the piece and the lack of variation in pacing makes it difficult to connect with her. Her continual and mercurial switching between characters is often confusing and the lighting’s attempts to support them often fails to keep up with her and frankly is totally unnecessary – the performer is skilled enough to demonstrate these changes alone. The onstage musician, whilst providing some great music, is sadly under-utilised.

One of the highlights of the show, however, is the extended section representing a South American soap opera and this is where the actor’s considerable skills are best utilised for intensely comic effect. Ingenious use of her body allows her to mimic close ups and other camera angles/shots, as well as the full embodiment of a range of character and soap opera narrative tropes.

The piece is strangely framed as an interview with Gloria’s daughter (Lucy’s mother) but why this conceit has been chosen is never clear and further confuses the work. Often the interviewee/narrator’s interjections are totally redundant and disrupt the rhythm of the writing. At one point she wonders if her recollections about this “peacock of a woman” are too cartoony. Indeed they are but this seems to be the point.

That is until we get to the epilogue. Here the show shifts gears in a dramatically if somewhat unjustified way. Suddenly the actor presents as herself and for the first time allows us to see true emotion and love. Her relationship with her Grandmother is, for the first time, revealed to be deeply heartfelt. This is the real heart of the work and the essential key to understanding it. Unfortunately it comes too late in the piece to give it the depth and impact it deserves. 

Lucy is clearly an accomplished comedic actor but Lita suffers from a constant breakneck pace and breathless delivery that fail to give the audience the time or space to fully appreciate her relationship with her Grandmother. 

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