Close To You
Southwark Playhouse, March 12, 2014
(Short-Form Review)
In just under an hour, Jennie
Eggleton explores her own personal struggle with anorexia on stage in relation
to her personal idol, Karen Carpenter. Following her downward spiral and daily
weigh-ins, we see Jennifer transform from 48 to 38 Kilograms, as she strives to
be what she thinks is ‘perfect,’ like her idol, Karen, who died due to
anorexia.
Jennifer if a performer, and
at the beginning, when watching her, it did seem over-acted; but as the story
progressed, the falseness faded, allowing an honesty to shine through. Using
characters from Karen’s life to give an outside perspective of anorexia,
Eggleton takes on the roles of Karen’s best friend and mother with a quick
layering on of clothes. She also briefly took on her own mother, best friend,
and eventually a psychiatrist – all attempting to convince Jennifer to eat and
help herself.
Telling her own story in a
fringe production soon moving to Brighton, Eggleton has taken on the difficult
task of telling her own painful struggle with disease on stage. A short and intense
exploration of personal image, Jennie delivers an intense drama that enlightens
an audience to the internal perspective of a woman living with an eating
disorder.
