Review: Laura Liptrot at the Midlands Fringe
Striding out in a t-shirt emblazoned with ‘Self Care Club’, Laura Liptrot set the tone for her one-woman autobiographical poetry show about breast reduction and reinvention, 'Weight off my Chest'. The audience had assembled at the Lych Gate Tavern on the last day of the Midlands Fringe in Wolverhampton and were treated to an original and intriguing play.
Actor by day and poet by night, Liptrot delivered a refreshingly frank account of how the decision to shed “the two Mitchell brothers” from her chest was the catalyst which led to her shedding so much more - toxic relationships, labels, societal expectations, and shame.
The show follows Liptrot through her youth, school days, awkward social situations, friendships, unfortunate “brain things”, into the operating theatre and onwards to recovery in all senses of the word. It is tinged with nostalgia but never rose-tinted, taking the hard lessons as they come and moving on from them with grace.
At times humorous and at times touching, ‘Weight off my Chest’ weaves together captivating storytelling, highly-rhythmic readings from two of Liptrot’s poetry collections – ‘Cocktails’ and ‘Out of Place’ – and enticing real-life conversations. The scene where she re-enacts a milestone conversation with her mother was particularly emotional viewing, capturing the confusion and overwhelm of living with uncertainty about who you really are.
Liptrot’s confident and unapologetic delivery belies her journey, but it is clear she’s taken control of her identity and become both physically and mentally comfortable with herself. This is a show about empowering yourself through decisive action, and the audience couldn’t help but root for her when she proclaimed “my life has become so beautiful.”
By Cherry Doyle
