TONY COOPER Norwich Arts Centre

TONY COOPER

> Norwich Arts Centre

This new one-woman play by Norwich-born writer Stephen May produced a compelling, passionate and energetic performance from Sarah Lindsey, a young actress/singer who has been admirably trained by the London School of Musical Theatre.

On stage for about one-and-three-quarter hours, she takes on the voices and personae of a dozen or so characters, with the central character being Diana Price, a person whose life is one of torment, stress and everything else. Attack is her defence; dreaming her paradise.

It was a faultless performance.

Her life's journey (which had a big stationary period in Halifax) unfolded in this tightly-packed show - ably directed by London director Benet Catty - in a profound and imaginative way.

We are introduced to all sorts of characters, from her nagging mum to her stepdad - an infamous wheel-clamp king - to her sexual encounters with Nathan, a would-be rock star and a part-time thief.

And she captured a clutch of accents (particularly that of a native of Yorkshire) to an exacting degree.

Punctuated throughout the show was a number of songs penned by former EDP writer Anthony Clavane, now chief sports writer of the Sunday Mirror. Her very fine voice - coupled with crystal-clear diction - added greatly to her delivery of them, with the songs themselves adding great poignancy.

This was a marvellous creative effort by a hard-working team and thanks must go to A12 Theatre and Halifax Square Chapel for getting it on the road.