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A CurtainUp Review
Some Kind of Bliss

By Nicole Watson

On the Northern Line, I realize I’ve exiled myself from my own home. I am six hours early. —Samuel Adamson
Some Kind of Bliss
Lucy Briers in Some Kind of Bliss
Why do we love the ones that leave us but never love the ones that want to stay? Some Kind of Bliss is another installment in the Brits off Broadway Festival. This solo performance by Lucy Briers is a captivating story of a woman who goes to great lengths to avoid spending a day at home with her ordinary husband Geoffrey.

Briers plays Rachel, an average journalist whose assignment is to interview pop legend and icon Lulu. The journey should be simple- travel from her flat in London to Lulu’s home in Greenwich. To escape her husband, Rachel leaves the house early and so her day begins. According to Rachel, there is nothing wrong with Geoffrey except for the fact that he is lovely—too lovely and too simple for someone who dreams of David Bowie.

We first meet Rachel as she is standing outside Lulu’s house, "after I’d had the electric sex, got clobbered, killed the dog and parked the hijacked ice-cream van." From there the play weaves back and forth in time from Rachel’s childhood days spent with her small-time rock star Uncle Stevie to the walk to Lulu’s house. Briers plays all of the characters including Geoffrey, Uncle Stevie, a 16 year old prostitute, and Dr. Felix, and old college flame.

Rachel’s journey to Lulu’s allows her to muse about loves, true and otherwise, as well as failed, and failing relationships. Underneath all of it, it seems that Rachel’s biggest problem is her relationship with the men in her life. While this may not be a new topic, Rachel’s lack of sentimentality and her sheer confidence even as she barrels willingly into her mistakes is a breath of fresh air.

Adamson’s writing is fresh and one wishes to be on the streets of London with Rachel. Given Adamson’s attention to detail and the specificity of Rachel’s pilgrimage, it was a shame that the set was just a few wooden planks on which Briers could traverse.

Briers moves seamlessly from one moment to the next, from ecstasy to despair and back again. The pop legend Lulu become irrelevant as Rachel is the one you want to watch.

SOME KIND OF BLISS
by Samuel Adamson
Directed by Toby Frow
Cast: Lucy Briers (Rachel)
Set Designer: Lucy Osborne
Lighting Design: Stephen Holroyd
Composer and Sound Design: Richard Hammarton
Running Time: 75 minutes with no intermission
59E59 Theaters59 E. 59th Street (212) 279-4200
From 6/11/08; opening 6/15/08; closing 6/29/08
Tuesday-Friday at 8:30 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm and 8:30 pm Sunday at 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm
Tickets: $27.50 ($19.25 for 59E59 Members)
Reviewed by Nicole A. Watson, on June 12, 2008
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