REVIEW: I WISH AT UNICORN THEATRE
A flamboyant Fairy Godmother suffers an existential crisis while delivering a milestone wish...
I WISH sees Jordan Laviniere take us on a one-(wo)man romp through the life-and-times of a Fairy Godmother (Effie is the name she eventually settles on, after trialling everything from Fairy God-fun-sister to FG) as she promises to grant a milestone wish to one lucky member of the audience.
The role was originally devised for - and by - drag diva Le Gateau Chocolat, who has sadly been sidelined by illness. We can only imagine how tough it must be to fill those thigh-high platform boots, but Laviniere steps up to the challenge and makes the part his own.
Sashaying onto the Unicorn Theatre stage dressed like a rainbow-coloured bath scrubber, it’s immediately clear that this is no Disney take on the fairy godmother. In fact, it’s more akin to a RuPaul’s Drag Race episode than anything resembling a regular fairytale and Laviniere’s delivery does enough to keep the kids enthralled, while always offering a wink and a nudge to parents in the audience.
Lending a little stardust to the show is a pre-recorded Julian Clary, whose voice is immediately recognisable as the narrator and the only counterpoint to Laviniere’s multiple characters, with the two cleverly playing off against each other throughout.
We join the Fairy Godmother as she celebrates a milestone in wish-granting (a figure so high, we’re comfortably into made-up numbers), and she promises to bestow this great wish upon one of the lucky attendees in the crowd.
But first, the sassy lead walks us through a highlights package of the greatest wishes she has granted, disappearing behind the fluffy pink curtain to whirl through dazzling outfit changes as she becomes a woman who desperately wants to be beautiful; a Cinderella who wants to go to the ball; and a boy who wants to fly and stay forever young.
We’re invited to join in the celebrations as Effie basks in her success, but Julian Clary swoops in to point out that all is not quite as it seems and the wishes have all been a disaster.
Our beauty-seeking woman has turned into a rampant egotist; the young Cinderella points out that due to her wheelchair, she couldn’t take the final few steps into the palace for her ball; and the young boy is forced to fly forever as he watches his family lay the table for their missing son each night, and his friends grow old and settle down.
It’s the most flamboyant existential crisis you’re likely to witness as Effie slowly realises her efforts have been in vain, but you can only feel so worthless when dressed in head-to-toe in glitter, and she soon devises a plan to pass her power on to us, the audience, allowing us to grant each other’s wishes.
She bustles through the crowd, dishing out wish magic in the form of golden confetti, before making a suitably extra exit - wearing the pink, fluffy stage curtain and bolting for the door.
Sashay away!
Fancy checking it out? I Wish runs until mid-April at Unicorn Theatre (check dates and times here), before heading to New York (May 1 - 20) and Manchester (May 25 - June 1).
I Wish at the Unicorn Theatre,147 Tooley St, London SE1 2HZ. Buy tickets. For ages 4-8. Tickets: Under 18s £11.50 - £17.50 / Adults £14.50 - £23.50
