By Miriam Williams
When I saw that Kym Marsh was going to be playing a main role in a new production of Single White Female in York, I was very eager to see her acting on stage. I’ve been a major fan of Kym’s for years, from her days with Hear’Say and her performances as a solo artist, to her much-loved stints on Waterloo Road and Coronation Street, where she famously played feisty fan favourite Michelle Connor.
This highly anticipated production is based on John Lutz’s novel, SWF Seeks Same, and the landmark 1992 psychological thriller Single White Female, starring Bridget Fonda and Jenifer Jason Leigh. Adapted for the stage by Rebecca Reid, this new touring show features well-known television star Lisa Faulkner (Holby City, John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen, Murder in Suburbia) playing recently divorced mum Allie, with Kym taking on the role of Hedy, a volatile new flatmate who is not as she seems…
The stage is set in a small apartment, which Allie shares with her daughter, Bella, as played by Amy Snudden (White Christmas, The Sound of Music Live). With things going haywire in the home and Allie struggling to keep up with rent payments, she’s encouraged to take in a lodger by her neighbour and best friend, Graham (played by Andro, a former member of the Brit Award-winning band, Jungle). After searching online, Allie quickly finds a flatmate, brunette photographer Hedy. While Hedy wins over Allie and her daughter straight away, some things don’t seem to add up – after all, which photographers do you know who don’t have a presence on social media?
Throughout the course of the play, we delve into Allie’s past and learn that her ex-husband Sam (played by Jonny McGarrity, as seen in The Whistling, The Full Monty, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream) was not the best partner or father, preferring to indulge in drink and drugs rather than support his young family. Initially, Hedy settles in well, offering Allie support and a much-needed shoulder to cry on, despite causing trouble and strife behind the scenes; her disruptive and increasingly sinister actions see her encouraging Bella to skip school and deal with bullies in the wrong way, and she even tries to seduce Sam, in a particularly racy scene that played out well on the stage. As Hedy becomes more unhinged (eventually spiking Sam’s drink and dressing up as his ex-wife, shoes, blonde wig and all), I was on the edge of my seat to see if he would take the bait. Without giving too much away, Hedy’s high heels come in handy at the climax of the show…
All in all, we had a fabulous evening, and the star-studded cast performed brilliantly. Will Hedy come good in the end? I won’t spoil the show for you… you’ll have to get yourself down to the Grand Opera House to see for yourself!
Single White Female runs at York Grand Opera House from 3-7 February. Visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/single-white-female/grand-opera-house-york/ to book your tickets. Visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/single-white-female/ to book tickets for the remainder of the UK tour, which runs until June.
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