By Kiana Emmett
Coral Browne, (the ‘e’ added for good luck) was an Australian actress who traversed over stage and screen in a career that spanned more than five decades. In her one woman show, Amanda Muggleton pays homage to the West Footscray born actress in dramatic, flamboyant style.
We begin the show by witnessing Browne’s biggest accomplishment, her 1984 BAFTA win, before we are invited into the basement of the Browne, where, through her memorabilia, Browne takes her audience on a rollercoaster ride through her career and personal life, and everything in between.
Browne is shared with a blind honesty and meditated depiction of every salaciously saucy detail. From her journey to West End diva to her affairs with every kind of person imaginable, it’s clear that Coral Browne was anything but ordinary.
Amanda Muggleton is an utterly electric presence on stage, and brought an eagerness out of the audience; ready to join Muggleton at a moments notice, she had us eating out of the palm of her hand. Her wealth of experience and sharp mind was brought to the forefront, with her charming depiction of the diva, hitting all the right notes.
The staging worked to the advantage of both actor and audience. The intimate Brunswick Ballroom worked in favour of the ‘basement’ feel and enveloped the audience in a familiarity. The guise of packing all of her memories away, until the stage was left almost bare at the end of the show, was an unexpectedly heartbreaking moment, but somehow also filled with comedic value; something that by that time the audience had come to learn this, summed up Coral Browne perfectly.
The projector screen provided the audience with a more well-rounded understanding of what it was to be Coral Browne, and how the many flings throughout her career shaped her both professionally and personally. The many newspaper clippings and film excerpts worked together to create the classy atmosphere of the production, a slick, retelling of a legends’ career and life.
This F**king Lady treads the line of being hilarious, heart-warming, and downright naughty, perfectly. Through quick paced, witty writing, and brilliant execution, Coral Browne is preserved in fantastic fashion.
Coral Browne: This F**king Lady plays at the Brunswick Ballroom through April 18.
Tickets can be found at:
Theatre Press 