An unnecessary take on Marilyn’s death
Beneath Waterloo Bridge in the intimate theatre of Emerald Theatre, Pixie Lott takes centre stage in Who Killed Marilyn? Marilyn Monroe is, without doubt, one of the most well-known figures in popular culture. Her iconic image, high-profile relationships and tragic early death have ensured that she remains a subject of fascination decades later. Books continue to be written about her, and her life and death have inspired countless films and plays. Unfortunately, I’m not convinced this production adds anything particularly useful or interesting to that existing discourse.
The most disappointing aspect of the show is the script. It offers a very high-level and superficial portrayal of the key moments in Marilyn’s life, ultimately building towards the question of who killed her and the various conspiracies surrounding her death. Marilyn is renowned for being a kind-hearted and intelligent woman beneath her carefully constructed persona as a sex symbol, something the play itself repeatedly references. Yet Pixie is given material that largely reduces her to a caricature of that persona, with her being excessively sexualised in scene after scene. It feels like a missed opportunity, particularly given the complexity of the woman the play is attempting to portray.
The script also relies heavily on telling rather than showing. At times, Pixie spends several minutes simply explaining what happened to Marilyn at a particular point in her life, before the cast then acts out the scene that has just been described. This makes the production feel more like a dramatised biography than a compelling piece of theatre.
The set is similarly underwhelming. It centres on the bed where Marilyn died, which is an obvious and potentially effective focal point, but the production also relies heavily on projected images in the background to accompany different scenes. These rarely add much to the storytelling. The costumes are even more confusing, with almost everyone other than Marilyn covered in strange splashes of blue paint blobs, the significance of which is left entirely to the audience to interpret.
The cast tries their best with the material they have been given, but it is difficult for them to overcome the weaknesses of the script. The highlight is undoubtedly Pixie’s brief rendition of the iconic “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” moment, where her vocals are excellent, as expected. Unfortunately, her portrayal of Marilyn remains largely one-dimensional, and her breakdown towards the end lacks the emotional credibility needed to make the moment land.
If you’re a fan of Pixie Lott, you may enjoy seeing her take on such an iconic character. Otherwise, unfortunately, there isn’t much here to recommend. The show will be on until 29 October with tickets being sold here.
Went last night and left at the interval as it was dire. I think the poster on the way in summed it up as the person who had created it had left a cursor on the face of Pixie Lott before the poster was printed, which made it look cheap and tacky. Much like the play.