I was so intent on finding my seat and watching my feet that I didn’t notice the stage until my guest gently nudged my arm and pointed. ‘Oh wow, look at that’ I gasped, and promptly stumbled. We found our seats and then had plenty of time to peruse the set. At first it seemed almost like a fairytale setting with so many props, twinkling lights, skyline silhouette, but on closer inspection it became clear that it was a cutaway of an attic full of clutter. Regardless, it still had a certain charm and although it didn’t change throughout the show it didn’t matter as our attention was drawn to things you might easily miss were it not for their use by the actors.

The first character to appear on stage was the hapless hero, Kevin, coming in through a window having climbed a ladder into his attic bedsit. He was wearing a mask and from his subsequent actions we realised this was set during a Covid lockdown, reinforced by him sanitising the shopping he had brought in whilst chatting to the audience. It was laughter from the off.

I must stop myself from continuing with a recounting of the show, after all, those of you who are going to see it will want no spoilers. But suffice to say I am sure I wasn’t the only one who immediately warmed to Kevin. His singing, dancing and comic timing were spot on, although through most of the show he was wallowing in a cloud of self pity you found yourself wanting to give him a hug. He could only converse with his parents by shouting down the stairs and spent hours dreaming of Dolly Parton. When she finally appeared on stage courtesy of rather good special effects, he of course, having gone to bed, thought he was dreaming.

I can find nothing of real consequence to criticise about this show but as my guest and I both commented, more than once, about the awful wig Dolly wore in the first half I can’t let it go unremarked. I will say no more.

Dolly did of course treat us to song after song but I have to say out of the fifteen numbers there were only six that I personally recognised. In between these musical interludes (some as duets) she and Kevin shared life experiences and although Kevin struggled to continue with his ‘poor old me’ attitude, in true Dolly fashion she finally got him to see how lucky he was compared to many others.

Although Tricia Paoluccio was born and raised in California Her Dolly accent was spot on. Dolly Parton was born in Tennessee and I am sure accents vary even more widely than in the UK, when you consider the size of the USA.

I must mention the musicians who, mostly, were hidden away in the eaves of the attic or to the side of the stage and also provided the voices of mother and father and a couple of other characters while sitting on the roof. Without their musical talents where would Dolly have been?

I found this to be a very original and imaginative story and I am sure it spoke to many people who find modern life, and especially the time of Covid, very difficult to handle. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was life affirming but the outcome was definitely good for Kevin.

Although I said the set didn’t change throughout it did slide apart very cleverly at the end and all the cast congregated on stage for a sing-a-long. There was also a lovely part of the show where we were asked to put our phone torches on and wave them in the air, it was very effective and added massively to the atmosphere.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable night out and a show that I would highly recommend you to see.

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Theatre Review