Bridgerton star Charithra Chandran makes a confident stage debut in this admirable attempt to address the mental health of teenage girls. Unfortunately, Rosie Day’s 80-minute monologue is also vague, predictable and stuffed with clichés.At 13 our heroine – unnamed until near the end – sees her older sister die of a heart attack induced by anorexia. By 17 she’s endured family breakup, bullying and serious sexual assault but somehow acquired a zen-like ability to see her younger self, and life, clearly.Neither the narrative nor the emotional developments ring true. Worse, the serious content is repeatedly punctured by excruciating ‘comic’ voiceovers from Maxine Peake as the jovially northern leader of the Scout Troop to which she belongs.Director Georgie Staight previously directed Day in her own script at Southwark Playhouse: the addition of star names have not made it fit for the West End. Beside recent, inventive one-person shows from Sarah Snook and Andrew Scott – and even misfiring but bold offerings from Billy Crudup and Suzy Izzard (also known as Eddie) – this feels pedestrian, a by-the-numbers exploration of trauma.
