Kate McLennan - The Debutante Diaries
Warm, funny, and surprisingly moving, McLennan's show is a definite winner
| 16 Aug 2007
Australian actress Kate McLennan performs an entire High School's worth of characters in her character comedy show The Debutante Diaries, in which we follow the highs and lows of a senior school year approaching their big “deb” ball. Now if you, like me, are aware of the word debutante only as something involving the aristocracy and Victorian ballrooms then you had best be informed that in Australia the debutante ball is roughly similar to the American prom or, if you prefer, the Scottish Piss-Up.
One-person shows are always a bit hit and miss, so it's wonderful to watch as McLennan seamlessly switches between over-the-top homosexual, school bitch, bitter chain-smoking teacher and the unflaggingly perky valley-girl. And even in this country it's easy enough to recognise these characters from our own school days, as gloriously exaggerated as they are. However, the show reaches its most poignant with the main character, Sophie McCallister, a heartbreakingly naïve girl who desperately wants to be a Cinderella on her big night but must negotiate a maze of set-backs – from her struggles to find a date for the big night to her lecherous boss in the fried chicken shop where she slaves to pay for her ticket.
The Debutante Diaries was a massive success in McLennan's home country and, while some of the jokes at Aussie suburbia have been lost in translation, it's easy to see why. Warm, funny, and surprisingly moving, McLennan's show is a definite winner.
One-person shows are always a bit hit and miss, so it's wonderful to watch as McLennan seamlessly switches between over-the-top homosexual, school bitch, bitter chain-smoking teacher and the unflaggingly perky valley-girl. And even in this country it's easy enough to recognise these characters from our own school days, as gloriously exaggerated as they are. However, the show reaches its most poignant with the main character, Sophie McCallister, a heartbreakingly naïve girl who desperately wants to be a Cinderella on her big night but must negotiate a maze of set-backs – from her struggles to find a date for the big night to her lecherous boss in the fried chicken shop where she slaves to pay for her ticket.
The Debutante Diaries was a massive success in McLennan's home country and, while some of the jokes at Aussie suburbia have been lost in translation, it's easy to see why. Warm, funny, and surprisingly moving, McLennan's show is a definite winner.