You Come From a Long Line of Shallow People by Joanne Green (who we were lucky enough to sit down and chat with on our YouTube channel, which you can watch here) is a powerful and moving one-person production that explores Joanne’s own experiences of having a mother who loves her dearly but wants to present not only herself but her family in a certain way. Joanne captivates the audience and commands the stage as she shares a series of hilarious and heartfelt stories from her life that are incredibly easy to relate to. She perfectly balances stories of a mother’s intense love with the more eccentric moments that truly permeate the hearts of the audience, leaving them very close to tears throughout.
Instead of simply recalling stories of yesteryear, Joanne uses this opportunity to showcase a range of eccentric characters, including a one-of-a-kind singing teacher who informs her that “she is breathing wrong, not just for singing but for life”. This is one of those unusual slogans you hear people throw around, but underneath it is a powerful message about holding onto anxiety and stress without fully dealing with your feelings, which is where the show itself comes into play. This show documents the life of Joanne Green (known to her friends as Josie) and, in particular, her unique relationship with her mother, who wanted nothing more in life than to be perceived in a certain way by the people around her. Despite the unpredictable and volatile family dynamic, Joanne explores the ways in which her mother tried to show her love, but as a child, the solo performer refused to identify it as an act of love. As someone who works in an educational setting, it is fair to say that many children’s brains are programmed in such a way that they often cannot fully see the true extent of everything going on around them. While Joanne absolutely highlights the more shocking moments of her upbringing (including her brother going headfirst through a wall), the show also makes a point of showing that many people express their love differently. As Joanne herself has admitted, she “wrote this show to find the places where my mom had loved me but I refused to notice.”
Despite all the arguments and conflicts between the two, it is clear that they both had immense amounts of love for each other, as the ending of the show focuses on the way Joanne tries to honour her mother after she has passed away with an elaborate funeral service exactly how she would have wanted it: extravagant and over-the-top glamour. Even after the metaphorical curtain lowers on the show, Joanne very excitingly hosts a show-and-tell-style section where she passes around printed pictures of her upbringing, including her mother. This shows everyone that, despite their differences, they will always be mother and daughter. This is obviously a very powerful message of forgiveness and maturity that can only have a positive effect on those in the audience who sometimes forget that people can show each other love in very different ways! In the closing sequence of the show, Joanne also invites the audience to join her in a high-energy kick-line, which not only plays on her theatrical roots and injects ever more joy into the closing moments of the show, but also physically (and metaphorically) closes the gap between the audience and the performer. This shows that everyone will, at some point, experience parts of what Joanne went through.
In conclusion, You Come From a Long Line of Shallow People by Joanne Green is a highly moving yet relatable story of complex family dynamics and the fundamental memories that these moments have formed. With the show’s stories being firmly based in real life and sharing similarities with experiences that almost everyone has gone through in their own lives, as well as the solo performer talking directly to the audience inside the intimate halls of Just The Attic at The Mash House throughout and flawlessly reacting to her own stories and the audience from the very moment she steps onto the stage, the entire show feels like an emotional catch-up with an old friend. This instantly involves the audience, making them totally engaged from the very opening of the show. Jam-packed with the glitz and glamour you would expect from this theatrical powerhouse, the show explores the bright lights of being on stage while also providing a behind-the-scenes look at battling these intense family interactions. I would rate this show 4 out of 5 stars!
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