Last Saturday I saw a wonderful “work in progress” at the Contact Theatre. It was “I may not be where I intended to be” by Leonie Higgins
It’s a one-woman, intensely autobiographical show about the last day of temping in a horrible office before fleeing the next and soaring to the giddy musical and artistic heights of… Eastbourne.
Playing to a packed and sympathetic audience, the strength of the material – mordant observation about ambition biting the nails of success, the (im)postures of (not) selling out, the (necessary) self-delusion of artists and agents – and the skill and boldness of the performance (at one point she had to read from a clipboard, the material not memorised because it is still being created) – added up to a rare evening of delight. It was followed by a question and answer session with Leonie, in which she fielded different questions and observations with the same aplomb she’d shown in the show.
Is it long/hefty enough? Not yet. Is the use of technology (“communication” technologies that actively impede that communication) fully fleshed out? Not yet. That’s because this is, as clearly indicated in the publicity, a work-in-progress. I for one will be first in line when its next iteration hits the stage.
Disclaimer: I know the artist socially.
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