It has come as a genuine surprise to many people I have chatted to when I have informed them that I have never been to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is arguably the world’s biggest festival for new and emerging pieces of theatre from all over the world. However, this year all of that changes, as I sorted out the logistics such as travel, accommodation, etc., and even started to book a collection of shows which stands just shy of thirty unique productions across six jam-packed days! One of the shows we are most excited about seeing in Edinburgh is the fantastic Lizzy Sunshine, which tells the story of the titular character, Lizzy Sunshine, as she prepares to put on a motivational, improv-infused show for the audience, only for the other half of her act — and her actual brother — to cancel at the last minute. This forces Lizzy to put on the two-person show with only one performer. There may be a few avid fans of the Rhys Reviews cinematic universe who find this story somewhat familiar, as we have actually been lucky enough to sit down and chat to the creator and solo star, Liz Coin, twice on our YouTube channel (you can watch the most recent iteration at https://youtu.be/xVaQ3xZiT84). Anticipating our first Fringe experience, and the fact we have chatted to the writer on two separate occasions, meant that when it was announced that Lizzy Sunshine would be headed to the The Drayton Arms Theatre, we knew it was time for another London adventure (which you can watch the highlights of at https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYu-w2tMQPp/?igsh=MXhud3o0Nm0xZ3YxZA==).
The show itself is essentially set across three distinct sections of a theatre, with each bringing its own atmosphere and vibe to carry the show along. As you would typically expect from a show, the majority of the performance takes place at the front of the stage, where Lizzy is visibly seen trying to improvise her way through a show she has done countless times alongside her brother, but never as a one-person performance before. There is a sequence in the show where her brother typically showcases a series of impressions, but Lizzy has not planned for this and is not particularly good at impersonating famous people. Instead, she leans on the audience to support her — more than I even think Liz expected — through this part of the show. As this section was heavily reliant on whatever the audience chose to shout out, there is no way she could have prepared an immense collection of voices, and so none of the impersonations were particularly impressive, which totally made sense in terms of the storyline being followed throughout. What is clever, however, is that Liz had planned a callback to an earlier moment in the show to ensure the energy of the room did not totally crash, but instead that the audience were laughing with her rather than at her. I don’t think anyone in attendance — Liz included — was expecting a random audience member to bust out an incredibly accurate Stewie Griffin impression, and Lizzy then really leaned on this stranger to help her get through the rest of the scene, which again made total sense.
The second setting of this show was the backstage area, which is the space where Lizzy begins to discover the more depressing and upsetting reasons behind her brother’s absence. Despite simply being made up of chairs, tables, and assorted props, every time Lizzy enters this space the entire show takes on a more serious and emotional feel, which is a testament to Liz’s portrayal of these heavier emotions throughout. One of the most powerful scenes in the entire production sees Lizzy receive a call from her brother where she discovers that he is not doing well. Despite this clearly being devastating news to receive mid-show, Lizzy maintains a more optimistic and supportive response, with a slight quiver in her voice and a visible change in how she holds herself, which was incredibly impressive. It would have been so easy for the performer to take the character’s reaction to either extreme of nonchalance or pure rage, but the middle ground Liz not only found but maintained throughout with ease was not only the most realistic approach, but also made sense in terms of the family dynamics laid out earlier in the show.
What is very clever about this production in particular is the use of not only the crowd themselves, but also the audience area, as it really builds on the improvised feel of the show. Lizzy is essentially forced to navigate the performance as a solo act rather than a two-hander. After Lizzy informs the audience that her brother is running late, the show begins with her energetically running onto the stage and through the audience, which really got the crowd excited for the rest of the performance while also establishing this high-energy and eternally optimistic character. As Liz herself is playing a character called Lizzy, who herself is taking on the role of a motivational speaker and performer, it allows these more energetic scenes to become really over-the-top, as it is effectively a character playing a character. On top of this almost meta perspective on the portrayal, the bigger the character is in the opening moments of the show, the more impactful the later moments become as Lizzy learns the real reason her brother is unable to attend the show as planned. Liz Coin’s improvisational skills were truly flexed as she later asks the audience to shout out any and all of their problems as she tries to fix them live on stage. This really demonstrated Liz’s talents, as not only was she able to interact with different audience members and provide hilarious “advice”, but she also possessed an escape strategy for the final conundrum that allowed her to effortlessly transition into the next section of the show, which she delivered from the front of the stage.
Overall, Lizzy Sunshine is an exploration of how a positive mindset can help people navigate difficult issues, while also touching on some of the negative effects this outlook can have on those forced to adopt it. It is obvious that the team behind this project have clearly considered how a person would realistically react in this situation, with Liz’s improv skills constantly on display throughout. Behind the laughs and joy, however, it is clear the audience are watching a character struggling to get through yet another disappointment, which is not an easy thing to capture, but Liz does it with ease. I would rate this show 4 out of 5 stars.
Rhysreviews 