New York City… City of dreams, according to the movies. Circa 1976 the punk movement is in full-flow, and it is all one girl can think about. She eats, breathes and sleeps the music, and Debbie Harry is the jewel in her punk crown. Wouldn’t it be life-changing if she could meet her?
This is the story of one girl stuck in Dudley, Wolverhampton in 1976. Pregnant and afraid of the dead-end world she inhabits, she impulsively decides to head for NYC, to meet Blondie’s lead singer. With her mum’s housekeeping and a £20 she’s tapped off her boyfriend, Jill makes her break.
As dramatic and escapist as this play is, there are limitations to how far you can empathise with Jill’s tale. Superbly acted by Beth Medley, Jill, and every other character, are presented with bags of energy, not letting the audience settle for a second. But this is a one-woman show, and it suffers as such. When Medley is quiet, everything is quiet, whilst the full-frontal delivery of curses and sexual positions, although in keeping with a punk ethos, sit a little uncomfortably with a 2007 audience.
Dye Young/Stay Pretty is a brave attempt at the dramatic, but not much else. The story is a little over-long as a consequence of one false-ending; attempts at comedy are, well, not funny, and the excerpts of some wonderful punk tunes are all too brief. Ultimately the show is held together by Medley’s superb performance, but Dye Young/Stay Pretty unfortunately feels too washed-out.
2/5
Phil Owens
