Closure? by Lydia De La Murrãy Review
Written by Joseph for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Closure? is a solo show from performer Lydia De La Murray about her past relationships. It is pitched as an academic lecture and the premise is fully committed to. It’s certainly not what I expected. I expected stand-up, as a comedian myself, it was my automatic assumption, but it is not fair to review this show as a comedy, as it is so much more than that. Its delivery was in line with its premise throughout, with comedic references, and with appropriate reference formatting.
Interesting and relatable, De La Murray taps into a universal truth, break ups suck. For whatever reason they end, it’s always bad and takes time to heal, some quicker than others.
She showcases her clear performance ability, though maybe mentioning the award so much fell to the law of diminishing returns. I think at times the premise was so well adhered to that it reduced the amount of laughter, as academic lectures aren’t meant to be funny, but that didn’t prevent us from enjoying the show.
The times when we see Lydia as she is on nights out helped to lighten the mood well. Interpretive dance and audience participation were well received. PowerPoint can sometimes detract from a show, but not here; it made sense for the premise, but was used effectively.
The heart of the show is clearly in its title, providing her with the closure she deserves, from those that can provide it, apart from one notable exception. Having real responses from actual exes helped to ground it in reality and helped us to relate to that which is unfortunately relatable.
Overall I felt that it was a nice piece with a very optimistic outlook and wasn’t as negative as could be easily fallen into with this type of content. A funny and honest show about the highs and lows of dating. I’d be interested to see what she does now having hopefully found Closure?
Closure? plays at the Leeds Playhouse until 24 May
★★★★
