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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Arifa Akbar

The Smile of Her review – actor’s autobiographical show speeds through its resonant pains

Isabella Ford and Christine Lahti face each other on stage, one in beige dress, one in red
Von Trapped … Isabella Ford (left) and Christine Lahti in The Smile Of Her at Marylebone theatre, London. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian

Christine Lahti’s autobiographical show addresses many important issues and emotional pressure points. It is the story of family life, misunderstandings between mothers and daughters, Lahti’s career trajectory, a second wave feminist awakening and a post #MeToo reflection on a time in showbusiness when the casting couch was the norm and female actors were judged for their “fuckability”.

All in the space of 90 minutes. That is the problem here. Lahti stands on Sarah Beaton’s near empty stage design with occasional neon lights (why?) and a white sofa covered in “upscale plastic” to evoke the sterility of the unhomely 1950s Michigan home in which she grew up, and her parents’ demand for perfectionism.

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