This brand new play ‘No Good Drunk’ (which you can learn more about by watching our video with Stacie at https://youtu.be/gtok131Dh4Y?si=OcHjb9En1o5wtBsd) landed at the Greenwich theatre and documents Stacie’s own life experiences as she explores the darker side of her own family stories. The story opens with a unique and mysterious story of how the solo performers own estranged grandfather is found in the grave of another woman which sparked an adventure for Stacie to discover how this happened and leads into the discovery of an ongoing issue that clearly runs through specifically the males of her own family all the way down to the most recent generation including Stacie’s own children. Being the only performer in this show, Stacie can adopt an extremely down-to-earth and personable manner (as if chatting to an old friend) with a combination of comedic moments, a plethora of theatrical addictions and a series of incredible vocals from Stacie herself. I know that if I personally had to maintain the focus and attention of an audience on my own for over an hour this would fill me with immense fear but Stacie’s relaxed persona while sharing these intense stories makes her appear totally at ease on the stage.
Despite being billed as a one-person show, Stacie and her team have cleverly woven a collection of multimedia to create a fully immersive and theatrical experience. The entire show is supported by a slideshow on the stage that displayed family pictures, documents (which are not only extremely vulnerable to Stacie but also reinforce the idea that the entire show is based on true events) live vocal performances by Stacie. The show also contains pre-recorded performances that give this entire show a feeling of grandeur despite only having one person holding the stage. For me personally, I can easily see the show growing and transforming into a cabaret-style event including aerialists (but more on that later), a live band, Stacie showcasing her incredible vocals and even line dancers for the more country-infused numbers all tied together with the narrator guiding the audience through the events that take place!
One of the many highlights of this production is the fact that Stacie herself used this opportunity to showcase her vocal talents as she delivers live performances throughout (which you can listen to all the songs on Spotify at
The show opens with Stacie singing a song about and titled “I-10” which sets up the fundamental foundations of the entire show. For those who don’t know the I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in America which runs from LA and Texas where Stacie has travelled along multiple times to visit family and so having this route referenced in this number not only adds to the realism but also is a clever nod to the ideas of recovery from addiction. The ‘road to recovery’ is a phrase that is often thrown around when discussing addiction which is an obvious connection to the physical road but also this route being a substantial journey is a nod to the fact that dealing with addiction is not a quick fix. This song then reappears in the closing moments of the show which not only created a nice full-circle narrative to keep the audience’s attention throughout but also played with the idea that in real life this story is not over/repeats over and over again.
My favourite number from this entire show would have to be “Tommy” as the entire number is beautifully tied together. I have to admit that at first I was a little confused as to why the ‘vocal’ microphone Stacie had on stage was adorned with a red ribbon but it all made sense in this number as a pre-recorded clip of an incredibly talented aerialist was shown on the projector as the scaled fabric of the same colour. Additionally, the inclusion of this style of performer was clearly integrated as one of the lyrics that stand out in this track is “She’ll keep you hanging” which obviously nods to the art form being displayed. These clever cohesive references alongside Stacie’s powerful and beautiful vocals help to make this number a particular highlight!
One of the most powerful songs throughout ‘No Good Drunk’ is the mysterious and intense ‘Two Tombstones’ that comes after the reveal that her grandfather is buried in another woman’s grave and the woman in question actually had two graves. This was truly amplified by the metaphorical phrase “two granite crowns” which as an English teacher I found both insanely clever and very dark. Another lyric that I found particularly prominent was the line “she met the demons he was trying to drown” which is not only an insanely powerful piece of imagery but also played beautifully into another story shared in the production. Stacie tells the story of how her grandfather and the unknown woman met in a bar which led to Stacie taking her own drunk video in the aforementioned bar which was equal parts hilarious and equal parts touching.
Overall, ‘No Good Drunk’ is an extremely raw and powerful story that grabs the audience’s attention from the very moment solo performer Stacie Burrows takes to the stage and does not let go until the closing moments. As this show relies heavily on real and true events of Stacie’s own life, this adds an emotional driving force that has many audience members to tears (myself included) as everyone can take and relate to aspects of the story in their own lives. There is also the added layer of meaning as the show hints at the fact that the events that inspired ‘No Good Drunk’ are not completely finished and the cycle may continue for many years which is incredibly important as people who may have not gone through similar experiences yet may at some point have to endure similar things and this show would be helpful to return when going through dark moments. This show deals with intense topics such as addiction, use of strong language, mental health, death and depictions of violence which makes it a production only suitable for a very mature audience but this is a production not to be missed! I would rate this show 5 out of 5 stars!
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