Lizzy Mace – Overlooked review

Everyone loves an underdog. Lizzy Mace, especially, who celebrates those snubbed by society in her solo character comedy show. Emily Brontë’s secret writing partner, the unmentioned fourth little piggy (who made his home from marble) and the humble wallflower, among others, each get their moment in the spotlight to soliloquise their feelings of being underappreciated.

‘Overlooked’ is the title but loneliness is the recurring theme, and Mace struggles to turn tragedy into comedy here. One character, Brenda, is surprised we’re even listening to her as she stands in line for the nightclub cloakroom. She’s desperately trying to convince herself that being in charge of the coats on a drunken night out is ‘the best job in the gang’, but drops some not-too-subtle hints that she’d rather be getting off with a member of the opposite sex on the dancefloor.

But then subtlety isn’t Mace’s forte. Her one-dimensional creations are garishly cartoonish, and many have a penchant for poor puns. She knows this, and tells us so via her alter-ego, Michelle, who stage manages the show, so why Mace has made each character so awkwardly overstated is a mystery.

Michelle’s purpose is to loosely link each set piece by ‘prompting’ Mace from the wings. It’s a flimsy device, and doesn’t quite make sense, but at least it hammers the show in to some sort of structure. Stage manager Michelle also has a few self-referential pops at her employer for not appreciating her input. ‘I don't get to take a bow,’ she sighs at the start of the hour. You can probably guess how the show ends.

There are some redeeming characters. The posh-voiced fourth bear in the Goldilocks story – or ‘mistake bear’ – who struggles with rebellion is lovably naïve. Mace is a decent performer, too. But there isn’t much to laugh at here, the show’s a sloppy mess, and behind the weak wordplay is an underlying sadness. Probably best to overlook this one.

‘Overlooked’ is Cowgatehead, 6pm