Karen at the Other Palace

Boxes plastered with “fragile’” stickers adorn the stage and are indicative of the mental state of the woman who stands before us. The Protagonist is chomping on her Calippo at Alton Towers when she is callously dumped by her boyfriend of four years without warning. On her 30^th birthday as well. The two also work together and the Protagonist was under the impression Joe was about to propose. Instead, he deposits her while spouting off about how he sees marriage as an archaic practice he wants no part of. More devastating still, the Protagonist soon discovers Joe has been having an affair with her office nemesis, the dreaded Karen.

With these two characters absent, it is up to Sarah Cameron-West – who is also the writer of the play – to command our attention and regale us with this all-too-relatable account of heartbreak. The cabaret-style studio at he Other Palace could not be a better location for this fringe play. Encouraging a suitable sense of intimacy, we are at once flies on the wall observing the aftermath of a bad break up and confidants of the Protagonist. Handing a glass of wine to an audience member who is then referred to as Stacey is just one of several interactions with the crowd, which are well received and inject further comedy into proceedings. Not that any additional humour is required for a script brimming with laughter-inducing one-liners. Cameron-West has a masterful comedic delivery but crucially, her facial expressions also allow her to convey the fragility behind the façade. It’s a multi-faceted performance that draws us in from the off.

We sympathise with the Protagonist’s plight, especially when she receives the gut-punch news that Joe is now engaged to Karen despite his earlier protestations towards marriage. We relate to such moments as her ordering her ex’s takeaway alongside her own through force of habit. We witness her go through the laborious, sometimes soul-destroying tedium of dating and we of course revel as she exacts her revenge on Karen. While this does come in the form of a suitably dramatic and hilarious office showdown, the Protagonist also humorously steals her yoghurts at work and at one point dances around her flat to Nelly Furtado’s Maneater while wearing Karen’s thong over her clothes. Millennial music adds further layers to the piece with Robyn, Natasha Bedingfield and Gossip forming the soundtrack. It must also be said that Sarah Spencer’s carefully considered sound design enhances the production with flashes of realism and Oliver McNally’s lighting perfectly punctuates key moments.

It’s rare to find oneself guffawing one moment and feeling sobered the next but through the writing, acting and assured direction of Evie Ayres-Townshend, we become truly invested in the world of the play and the tumultuous journey our character is forced to embark on. It feels fresh and honest, offering an interesting take on the benefits of expelling our anger to reach a level of catharsis so we can navigate our way through the purgatory that exists following a breakup.

Like the boyfriend’s boxed belongings, all the action is compacted into just 60 minutes. This allows for a brisk pace, which sags slightly on occasion but for the most part holds up. We are left both wanting more while feeling a sense of joy for this character we have quickly come to know. Fortunately, audiences can enjoy the pleasure of the Protagonist’s company again, with a run at this year’s Edinburgh Festival, and it seems a dead-cert that we will see Cameron-West go on to further exciting things in her writing and performing career.

Jonathan Marshall
Images: Dylan Woodley

Karen is at the Other Palace from 19^th until 24^th March 2024. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for Karen here: