Lizzie Bean: Phuckets and Rainbows

Chaos, comedy and cathartic collide in the one woman show "Phuckets & Rainbows" brought to you by the effervescent encourager, Lizzie Bean.

Come and dive into the magic and madness of it all, as we weave words around stories of living. Words to make us laugh, cry, but ultimately to set us free, to be.

Where do we find ourselves as we hit midlife? What lessons brought us here? Who are we underneath the lanyard, the Gucci watch, the muslin cloth, the leisure wear, the wine...

From the highs to the lows, of this ordinary girl's commitment, to living an extraordinary life. Come and immerse yourself for a while in the emotions of it all... An invitation to come ride the rollercoaster, in the hope, that you too will see, how enough you are.

The show is written and performed, by Lizzie Bean, a mum, wife and friend. A speaker, mentor and twizzler. A dreamer, and believer in ordinary magic.

Just a girl, on a mission, to live...

*strong language, pretend nudity, adult content.

Review:

‘Phuckets and Rainbows’ – honest, engaging, funny and raw

Autobiographical shows are the lifeblood of fringe theatre but I have rarely seen one that touched me like Lizzie Bean’s ‘Phuckets and Rainbows’. It could be because, as an older woman, she was talking my language but I suspect that was only a small part of it.

Lizzie is a consummate performer – honest, engaging, funny and raw. But above all, real. With an enviable singing voice to boot. And with all that in her favour, you might imagine she had it all. You would be wrong. Because Lizzie has been laid low by doubts and the expectations of society and simply ‘not being enough’ for a good deal of her adult life.

The show takes us through her many attempts to ‘make it’ – in marketing, motherhood, running, weight loss, and mental health where she helps others to do what she found so hard herself. She exposes her struggles to the audience almost literally, starting the story naked. Well, in a flesh coloured bodystocking adorned with ever-drooping nipple tassels! Costumes and props appear out of boxes and buckets in a chaos of colour and energy.

We willing follow Lizzie on her quest to succeed in life, sometimes cringing on her behalf, sometimes – in painful recognition – on our own. Her openness and ability to laugh at herself ensures her audience is with her all the way to her realisation that she just needs to ‘be’. And to allow herself to feel whatever it is she feels. Simple but so hard.

‘Phuckets and Rainbows’ lurches in the best possible way from hilarity to pathos taking in the ridiculous on the way. Lizzie really does feel it all and makes us feel it too. Her infectious invocation to be an ordinary person living an extraordinary life is hard to resist and the audience takes it with them back out into the world. At least for a little while.

Full list of all Fringe Extra, Barnstaple, performances here.