Slippery When Wet
Many Twixt
Slippery When Wet
by Leanne Devlin
at the Barons Court Theatre until 2nd September
Review by Denis Valentine
Slippery When Wet is a one-woman show written and performed by Leanne Devlin with Emma Copland directing. The main story of the show centres around a young woman’s flirtation and desire to date a character known simply as Love. Within the show, the theme takes a look at the modern-day trials and tribulations that the 2023 dating world can bring. Audience members are treated to watching Devlin’s character navigate obstacles of a relationship formed on Instagram and held together by things such as the latest Tik-Tok dance and waxing trend.
With Copland’s directing and Devlin’s strong energy and craft the show does manage to make the audience invest in the character and root for their wellbeing. The show is reflective of its character’s mind-set as it is solely focused in one direction and forsakes thought and reflection on anything else – family? The acting career they are effectively giving up – the main character is so focused on Love that the audience does not even learn her name until the show’s closing moments.
Devlin is a well-suited lead who delivers each scene well, with good humour and charm. The story the show tells offers an insight into the perils of dating, and some of the modern-day aspects of it, but there is nothing new or insightful to proceedings. There are plenty of amusing moments (an episode based around a waxing session stands out) and set pieces well handled by Devlin, whose energy and charm never drops. However, by the nature of the simple love story the play is telling, there is a feeling that even past the ultimate conclusion of whose bed Love ends up in, that the story is a tale as old as time and does not offer anything new for the audience to really think about or be impacted by afterwards.
From a technical standpoint the show deserves special commendation. The sound effects of a new message from Love do well to build in anticipation and become a supporting player to Devlin, whilst clever use of lighting and sound effects effectively change the settings and atmosphere of scenes when needed, whether it’s in a shopping isle, a club or beneath the sea.
Slippery When Wet is a show that manages to capture and portray that young love feeling and does offer an amusing hour of theatre. The show may not tread new ground in its overall insights and observations into young love but bounces along entertainingly enough for its sixty-minute runtime.
Denis Valentine, August 2023
Photography courtesy of Barons Court Theatre
Mark Aspen 