Joy is a new comedy drama written by Morna Young and directed by Alex Fthenakis. Joy (Naomi Stirrat) has been cursed with a name that doesn’t suit her. She’s not someone who could be described as joyful; in fact, she’s very sad.
Joy is, by her own admission, “gagging for it” and she is keen to find someone to sleep with. After a particularly disastrous date, she realises that what she needs is a sense of humour. She doesn’t understand jokes and people find her a bit strange and awkward. With no family, she’s pretty lonely and when she meets someone who is exactly her type, she becomes determined to live up to her name.
Naomi Stirrat is a joy to watch in this solo play as she flips between different characters in Joy’s life. Her timing is excellent, which works really well, especially when the humour is in how much of a disaster Joy is at trying to be funny. It’s a whirlwind performance, and the runtime flies past.
Joy also manages to avoid typical tropes of the sad spinster librarian. She’s a well fleshed out complex character, and Morna Young’s writing manages to achieve a lot in this relatively short piece. While she’s an awkward character, she’s easy to connect with, and you’ll definitely find yourself rooting for her.
Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
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