“You can’t please everyone,” Charlie Russell’s been told, to which she wants to reply: wanna bet? This solo debut presented by Mischief Theatre, in whose shows she stars, finds Russell rising to that challenge. Audience members are asked for their favourite ever shows; Russell then delivers party pieces catered to their taste. Imagine being stuck in a room with someone desperate to ingratiate herself, by any means necessary. That’s this hour – until a final-act volte face, which takes the show in a more compelling but just as disconcerting direction.
There’s very little to the first two-thirds beyond Russell showing us what she can do. You like musicals? She sings I’m Just a Girl Who Can’t Say No. (The whole song? The whole song.) You like drama? She stages a scripted dramatic scene, apropos of nothing, with one part played by a gent in the front row. Elsewhere, there’s a short film in the style of Jane Austen, and a speech splicing countless Shakespeare quotes and recited against the clock. All are offered up with crowd-work skill and stage-school gusto. But the point of each individual routine, beyond Russell’s aim to please, isn’t always clear.
