Memoirs of a Dater

Review by: Paul Towers, 25 January 2018

Memoirs of a Dater by Samantha Sinyakena

Directed by Samantha Sinyakena & Josh Rai

Upstairs @ The Western, 25^th January & 7^th February 2018

“Vagina Monologues meets Bridget Jones”

One of the avowed aims of the new management team at Upstairs at The Western is to facilitate new talent. To this end they have brought together author Samantha Sinyakena with producer/director Josh Rai to bring to the stage the adaptation of Ms Sinyakena’s blog, and now book, of her dating misadventures.

The stage play is just a small sample of a whole book of escapades while trying to find Mr Right, or maybe just Mr Right Now. Think Vagina Monologues meets Bridget Jones. No awful, embarrassing or downright gross date is side stepped as we follow the author through a gamut of emotions ranging from that painful moment when you decide that several years of personal grooming neglect has to be addressed through dealing with an arrogant ex- to sex in a Smart car and thence to the inevitable visit to the STD clinic with your less than discreet BGF. It all culminates in an embarrassing first visit to a sex shop. All these disasters, and more are related by a cast of Danielle Wolf, Shannan Mitchener and

Araminta Jurgen-Romrigin in a  series of monologues.

While this was the official Press Night for the show and also marked the start of Upstairs at The Western’s Leicester Comedy Festival schedule, the show is on again for two further performances on Wednesday 7^th February. There are very limited tickets available so snap up the remaining ones now.

Upstairs at The Western http://upstairsatthewestern.com/

First published on Western Gazette