We sent our reviewer James to watch Jess Carrivick: For Your Consideration

Entering Jess Carrivick’s For Your Consideration the audience is welcomed to ‘the Academy’ where we are to be taken on a journey through excerpts of ‘all the films’ – starring Jess Carrivick, aged 9, and directed by her brother, aged 10. In a disarming and very pleasing set up, a couple of real, old family movies play where the kids are making films using their dad’s camera equipment and away we go.

As is often the nature with a selection box of character comedy, some hit better than others. The ones that have a slightly more playful, clown-type quality, in particular a woman at the cinema asking everyone to be quiet, are the strongest here and let the performer play more easily with the audience. Carrivick has an easy charm and deft handling of the unexpected and these moments – most notably in the performance reviewed here, where a disgruntled baby demanded some attention – help the piece shine. In this vein, the highlight of the show was a ballerina stuck in a Good Will Hunting-esque melodrama, where again Carrivick’s physical comedy skills were a delight.

There is a little audience participation, mainly focused around a supremely engaging and funny fading jazz singer character, but it is very gentle, warm-hearted and a lot of fun.

After a strong start, the framing device and the show’s overall structure gets a little confused, which unfortunately takes away the impact of some of the comedy. A couple of the characters seem to know each other, but little is made of this connection, which was slightly disappointing (although the characters themselves are fun). There are also some slightly odd tonal choices in this show, particularly a recurring joke involving the misunderstanding by the ‘kids’ making the films of the word ‘porn’ for ‘pawn’ which seemed to perplex the audience somewhat. This is a shame as when the piece works, it joyfully takes the audience onboard and whisks them away on some very entertaining flights of fancy.

The final ‘star turn’ that is built up to throughout the show possibly feels like a bit of a deep cut, particularly for a younger audience, but was certainly appreciated by us musical theatre nerds in the audience. It is also carried off with a joy and aplomb that should still entertain even those unaware of its origin.

Although a slightly mixed bag in places, For Your Consideration is a thoroughly diverting hour from an extremely likeable and engaging performer.

RATING: **** 4 Stars

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