REVIEW: MARSHMALLOW ME by Rosie Pepper at Old Red Lion Theatre 27 – 31 May 2025

“impressive debut from a bold new talent.” ★★★ ½

With peroxide blonde hair, broad Northern accent and quirky, marshmallow pink outfit, Ruby has plans. Drama school and the bright lights of London beckon after the seductive appeal of a school production. She leaves hometown, Scarborough, or “Scarbados” as the locals call it, “covered in birdshit” and full of nosy neighbours. In The Smoke, she juggles multiple jobs to cover her high rent but despite shining in drama school, she eventually joins the legions of wannabe actors, all chasing the same opportunities and facing the same rejections. With no real friends, only tiresome or weird flatmates, life becomes progressively tough, noisy, and stressful. London is not an easy city to become unmoored, but Ruby finds a way to cope.

This one-woman debut show, written and performed by Rosie Pepper and directed by Scott Le Crass, has lots to love. The energy and comedy in the opening half are joyous; Pepper’s talent for impersonation makes the snapshots of working-class Scarborough come alive on stage. With the ring of authenticity and affection, she moves dynamically and manages to embody the entire cast of a soap opera. The set, a simple arrangement of modern suitcases denotes, the instability and unsettledness of city life. Sometimes, one of them contains a dressing up outfit, other times the lid of one is lifted to represent a lavatory, because this has become Rosie’s main coping mechanism as she wretches her life away.

Partnering with SEED (Support and Empathy for those with Eating Disorders) a voluntary organisation based in Hull, East Yorkshire, this account of bulimia doesn’t pull any punches. Visceral and vivid, audiences will come away with a personal insight into this condition. As a type of solace and way to sooth, as much a relief as blood-letting or other forms of self-harm, a bout of self-induced vomiting can bring about a state akin to post-coital bliss. Through Ruby’s frankness and honesty, there’s a spotlight on the link between eating disorders and control and no matter how stomach-churning the mechanism, these are rationalised and normalised as Ruby’s physical, emotional and mental health decline.

At one hour ten with no interval, Marshmallow Me could be streamlined into a shorter, sharper production. The second half is a bit of a downer, and the laughs are less. Perhaps, this is life, but the blow-by-blow accounts of therapy, slow the piece down and the strength of the final act or conclusion doesn’t match the opening. That aside, this is an impressive debut from a bold new talent. For anyone who’s enjoyed the hilarious ‘Alma’s Not Normal’ by Sophie Willan, currently on the BBC 1-Player (Quirky female northerner with issues) Marshmallow Me is a must.

MARSHMALLOW ME by Rosie Pepper at Old Red Lion Theatre 27 – 31 May 2025

Directed by Scott Le Crass

BOX OFFICE https://www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk/marshmallow-me.html