Destiny is preparing for a big Thursday night out in rural Wiltshire. She leads us to her local nightclub, Karma, where the drinks are 50p and the evening will ultimately go sour, setting her on a path of desperate longing for love.
Though her existence is littered with misfortune – including distant parenting, limited finances and sexual abuse – she is full of hope. She has faith that things will get better. She dreams of showbiz and of being an MTV Base backing dancer. Her fantasies are long-lasting, her resilience inbuilt.
It is difficult not to warm to Destiny, written and performed by Florence Espeut-Nickless in a monologue directed by Jesse Jones, presented online for the Edinburgh fringe and supported by the Pleasance and by Bristol Old Vic’s Ferment programme. Despite her surface-level confidence, there is a naivety to her storytelling. As she repeatedly makes decisions that end in inevitable pain, she manages to find humour in her darkest moments – and you can’t help but laugh along, even if it’s at her fantasies about a TV presenter while she is having sex with a man much older than her.
The spare set, designed by Joseff Harris, features quick-changing lights and a single chair: we’re almost completely reliant on Espeut-Nickless’s ability to command the room. This filmed version is performed to a live audience, and Destiny’s spirit is engaging early on.
If her story is one we’ve probably heard before, it doesn’t make it any less authentic – and it is captivatingly told in the West Country vernacular of Destiny’s community. With endearing personality, she does them proud.
Destiny is available online and live at Bristol Tobacco Factory theatres, 7-8 September.
