Reviews on The Review

Ian Winterton’s gritty drama about a prostitute trying to hide her shady career while caring for her younger sister was first seen at last summer’s 24:7 festival before moving onto the Edinburgh fringe. The play’s title Sherica is taken from the false name assumed by the leading role as she goes about her secret life as a sex worker. Things get complicated for Sherica/Katie, played by Ruth Middleton, when she becomes embroiled in a complicated lust triangle involving her sister’s teacher and fourteen year-old school bully Douglas (William Hutchby).

The cast and director haven’t changed since 24:7, so I wondered why Middleton and co-star Oliver Devoti seemed so nervous in the opening scene. With the shaky acting, and the rather conspicuous pink dildo that acted as a humorous opening prop, I was skeptical of exactly what I was about to watch. In time, the actors settled into the performance and we were treated to some scenes of real poignancy. The dildo, however, never seemed to do anything apart from fail to shock in the way it was intended to.

The play’s main drama hinged on the relationship between Katie and Devoti’s Michael, and the trouble that Douglas causes when he realises that Katie is reluctant to fulfill his teenage fantasies. Douglas records Katie in a compromising position and sends pictures of her entering her brothel to Michael’s wife. Predictably, none of this ends well. When young Natalie (Nicola Stebbings) runs away to avoid being taken from Katie by social services, we are treated to a moving scene that brims with emotion.

Unfortunately, the quality of the script fell short of the calibre of acting. Despite an exciting young cast, the play too often flirts with stereotype and cliché. The dialogue lacked credibility. Although Hutchby puts in a great performance as Douglas, the actual character is too close to the typical spoilt bully that has been seen in so many other stories. The same can be said for Stebbings’ Natalie. A promising young actress is stilted by dialogue and an attitude that makes her a less funny version of the teenage character from Catharine Tate.

The worst stereotyping of all is saved for the main character. I had been thankful throughout that they had least spared us the cliché of the prostitute turning to drugs when things get tough. And then in the final scene, they went to that exact place. As Katie crouched in her prostitute’s garb snorting heroin from a mirror, I was left disappointed that a promising play ended up going down such over-trodden paths.

Ultimately, I was left unsure just who the story wants you to side with. Still, Sherica has potential. Sherica will make you laugh, and the scenes of genuine emotion, when they do occur, may bring a tear to the eye. There are strong performances throughout, particularly in some of the minor parts such as Katy Slater’s Holly and David Slack’s Pope. The play felt just a draft away from being as good as it could have been. With more originality in plot and polish in the dialogue, Sherica could be the gritty and gripping drama it tries and deserves to be.

Sherica is a part of the 2012 Re:Play Festival by the Library Theatre Company. http://www.librarytheatre.com/event/sherica