A Solitary Choice

“No-one has ever called me magnificent” says the central character in
Sheila Duncan’s engaging but run-of-the-mill play. I believe her. This
is a woman who cheats on her husband for one night of passion, ends up
pregnant and has to decide whether to keep the baby or not. A common
enough story, perhaps, but that doesn’t make it theatrical.

Michael Allen’s production has a couple of effective moments: at one
point Lee engages with her own shadow looming against the back wall,
and the finale is very effective. Otherwise, he and actress Tamara Lee
are unable to animate or breathe life into a bland monologue.

The writing has some good touches. She describes her unborn daughter
as “a little weed that has taken root in the wrong soil” and her fear
that she’ll “never know the taste of flight”. But, for the most part,
like the play’s pivotal liaison, it is an empty and humourless affair.

– Benet Catty