REVIEW: Four Weigh Ins & A Funeral at Lion & Unicorn Theatre 6 – 10 May 2025
“left me wanting so much more” ★★
Set in a London Slimming World group and based off writer and director Emma Burnell’s own experience with weight loss, Four Weigh Ins & A Funeral is a collection of tableaus, or meetings, rather, depicting the friendship and love of food shared between five women. While the play does reflect diverse palates and reasons for losing weight, it doesn’t push much further than this. There are some plays that remind you of the sheer breadth of creativity that bursts from new writing and innovative directing: unfortunately this is not one of them. But, as I heard audience members sniffling at the play’s more emotional moments, I remembered that not all theatre necessarily has to break boundaries. It made me question what place shows like this have in the theatrical landscape: shows that tell stories as they happened with no conflict and little dramatic action. Shows that are, as Burnell writes, ‘made with love’: that stand not to challenge but to display.
The plot that carries us through each scene – punctuated repeatedly by the chorus of ‘All About That Bass’ by Meghan Trainor – is sad. Marcia (Maurtrice Wagner) is diagnosed with cancer but continues to show up to each group. A standout moment in the play is her monologue where she explains why she is still trying to lose weight. “This I can control,” she commands, determined to fit into the dress she has already chosen for her funeral. Beyond this, the group have become a family to her, which is a theme that runs throughout. There are moments of storytelling that shine, but that are regrettably let down by static direction and a questionable use of video. Opportunities to inject energy into the play are missed, like the dancing at Jenny’s wedding being filmed in costume in the same black box theatre and then…played back to the audience. This confused me: if the stage is there and the costumes are there and the actors are there, why not do it on stage to an audience that is also there?
Four Weigh Ins & A Funeral left me wanting so much more. If there is a place for theatre that displays without conflict or dramatic action, then I believe it should display with courage. Set monologues that fantasise about food to sexy music, show daydreams of temptation in their naughtiest form, awash with pink lights or a waterfall of chocolate tipped from the gantry. If it’s about community and friendship, invite the audience to share their own stories and involve them in the narrative. Seek ways to make it art, rather than a 60-minute anecdote. I’m sure that this play is probably a very accurate representation of a Slimming World group and the familial bonds born from it, but as a dynamic piece of theatre, it holds back far more than most people on a diet.
Four Weigh Ins & A Funeral by Emma Burnell
Lion & Unicorn Theatre
6th – 10th May 2025
Box office: https://app.lineupnow.com/event/four-weigh-ins-and-a-funeral
Written and directed by Emma Burnell
Produced by Third Act Productions
Cast
Claire Fairman – Jenny
Berny Baretto – Faiza
Maurtrice Wagner – Marcia
Lou Mellanie Hutchings – May
Nance Turner – Kelly
Social media : @ThirdActProds
Website : https://thirdact.productions
