Scorchio! The Fast Show’s persistently sunny forecasts from Caroline Aherne have got nothing on the flaming reports delivered by Julia McDermott as Stacey, a California weather girl in meltdown. One of Stacey’s regular bulletins careens into an apocalyptic, scorched-earth stream of consciousness, raging against reckless consumerism and environmental ignorance, in this tragi-satirical monologue written by Brian Watkins.
And it is a fast show, tautly directed by Tyne Rafaeli for Francesca Moody Productions and performed in a caffeinated rush by the captivating McDermott. “I am your rise and shine,” she insists – voice perky, cheeks rosy, skirt hot pink – but a numbing nihilistic despair is barely concealed. Filming a segment on a wildfire, she strikes a pose for the cameras but utters “I can’t hold this smile much longer” – an alert not just about her personal breakdown but the planet’s.
