An Audience with Shurl is a night in listening to the life story of a charming, though barmy, 57-year-old lady. This is a one-woman show, written, directed, and performed by Sue Bevan.

The play begins with unscripted chitchat with audience members but soon skilfully leads to Shurl’s endearing descriptions of Wales, made up of an appropriate balance of humorous anecdotes and oddly captivating stories. An Audience with Shurl unravels to be much more than the mundane recounting of day-to-day stories; certain episodes have the audience sitting on the edge of their seats, and the play ends on an extremely unsettling note.

Bevan controls the audience admirably, steering us through Shurl’s highs and lows. The connection with the audience is, at times, interrupted by Shurl’s sudden change of mood from eerily pensive to erratically happy. Although useful in moving the story forward, this device eventually becomes a bit too familiar.

The production of Shurl’s story is clean and simple, presented on a stage that is virtually bare but for a few bedroom objects. Intimate routines such as using a make-up wipe and putting on articles of clothing as she speaks to the audience serve as a clever tool to make the audience initially feel at ease with the personal stories she is revealing. Dim low-level lighting serves both as cosy and creepy, particularly in constructing settings such as a chilling candle-lit cellar.

Perhaps the production could benefit from using both sides of the Playroom. Upon walking in, Bevan personally welcomed each audience member in character, but seated everyone on one side. This was a pity; the living-room-esque layout of the Playroom could only have enhanced the warm and friendly atmosphere Bevan was trying to achieve. However, such a change could have added only little to the otherwise lovely ambiance created by the play’s opening.

The true beauty of the show lies in Bevan’s acting. Shurl’s mannerisms are adorable, and her energetic movement around the stage, though slightly unsettling initially, really grows on the audience. Most remarkable of all was Bevan’s ability to adopt age-appropriate behaviours as Shurl recounted events from her childhood and her teenage life. A pitiable naiveté was carefully maintained when moving on to stories from her adult life, such as Shurl’s entertaining obsession with Shirley Bassey. A particularly moving moment was the bus-stop scene with Shurl’s father, which had the audience so engaged that they were left completely silent, unsettled by the inability of young Shurl to understand her own emotions.

Listening to Shurl reminds one of a Sunday afternoon at an eccentric auntie’s house.  However, if the promotion of the play misled you into expecting some Shirley Bassey tracks and a glittery production, then let this review serve as a warning.