We eavesdrop on an off-stage phone call - “The problem is most of the time it will be on in the morning …. About death so needs to be upbeat.”
Putting this into practice is Olive, jogging on a treadmill to a soundtrack of “You’re Going to Die Alone”, she talks about how it is weird that we don’t talk about death. Maybe it is how we defend ourselves from not knowing the when, how or why, or perhaps just a decline in religion and its rituals.
The probability of an individual existing is unlikely and, while Olive has always been kind of convinced that it will never happen to her, the odds of dying are 1:1.
This she decides is the basis for an important piece of journalism, more so than her usual diet of “Love Island” reality tv, and makes a bumbling pitch to her boss, who’s wife has unfortunately died last year.
If she can talk to dying people she will be providing a service, she just needs a way to have access to those in palliative care. A referral to a doctor gets her in the door, but patients don’t like to talk about it, “it’s not nice”. She does however gain her own personal insight and a new angle, something that might not be the worst thing for her career but has her running for her life.
It's a path that sees her veer off track away from her war correspondent fiancée, Tess and into the orbit of Evelyn, an ironically vivacious terminal cancer patient. Not wishing to engage with the future Olive lives in the moment with some risky decisions, a 3am karaoke session of “I will Survive”, and an ego-loss experience on acid which provides her with a revelatory answer – if only she could remember it.
In the long run taking part in a charity marathon planned with Evelyn will provide answers as to what life is all about and who her friends are. A clever and touching outro takes it past the finish line.
This sharply written first solo show sees Madeley give an excellent storytelling performance bringing genuine comedic warmth to the occasionally inconsiderate Olive. It’s all slickly done with her tale smoothly kept up to pace with the use of the exercise gear, and a soundtrack peopling it with the other characters.
An opportunity to laugh in the face of death.
Show times: 1 - 26 (not 12, 19) August 2024 at 10.30am
Tickets: £17 (£14.50).
Suitability: 12+ (Contains distressing or potentially triggering themes, references to mental health, strong language/swearing).