Swapping the gossip columns for the theatre, Sadie Frost is making her first stage appearance for 23 years. But the solo 90-minute show does little to dispel the suspicion that this is a very public audition for a higher-profile West End gig. Frost is perfectly adequate, however, as she ages from 14 to late-30s in this cautionary tale of Madonna worship, celebrity and wannabe fame.
Frost may be capable of delivering a script, but she sure can't pick one. Zoe Lewis's tale of Manchester girl Lesley, who is obsessed with Madonna, may have seemed a neat fit. After all, Lesley builds her entire life around the vain hope of hanging out with Madonna, while Frost actually has hung out with her. But I fear it was the opportunity to show off several excellent Manchester accents rather than an interest in postmodernism that drew Frost to the material.
Teenage Lesley is desperate to be just like Madonna in the Like a Virgin video. But losing her virginity proves harder than she imagined. Neglected by her mother, and neglectful of her own friends, Lesley tries to constantly reinvent herself - like her idol, discovering too late that the route to happiness lies in being yourself rather than a cut-price Madonna.
Lewis clearly aims to cast Lesley's story as a morality tale about female role playing. But while the early scenes are entertaining, Lesley becomes less interesting the more unhappy she gets, as it begins to dawn on her that she has been on the wrong track all along.
