A stimulating, challenging, eye opening night of theatre awaits you at the Reginald Theatre.

A lot of stuff came up for me watching the show. I thought of Randy Newman’s song Short People, a very tongue in cheek song singing  that short people have got no reason to live, critiquing and belittling  them. We critique and judge very big people in a similar way.

It is so good that the show has had some school performances. Some students may  have their heads turned around after seeing this show.

The in your face nature of the show starts right from the beginning. As we stream into the theatre we see a very big lady sitting on a step, (its a platform  stage) checking out the messages on her phone. She occasionally looks up to watch people in.

We soon find out that the very big lady’s name is Ashleigh and Ashleigh is the main character in the play. She has come  to see Monica who is a bridal stylist. Ashleigh is getting married and wants to know if Monica could possibly make a bridal dress for her.

The performances are very good. Megan  Williams is excellent as Ashleigh who is very tired of the lectures she gets from people about her weight and the health issues involved. Williams is a intelligent actress and ‘holds’ the stage well.

She finds an ally in bridal stylist Monica who doesn’t judge her and says she will make a great dress for her whatever her weight is. It’s a really good performance by Tracy Mann. A very convincing performance, she very much looked the part of a bridal stylist. Monica is a very chatty character and loves to tell anecdotes full of wisdom.

Sam O’Sullivan plays a few different characters but his main character is as Ashleigh’s good natured fiancee, Bryce. There is a good chemistry between them. As Ashleigh says of Bryce, ‘Hey are you really my fiancee or are you the perfect man?!’.

My favourite scene in the play is when Ashleigh comes  out looking stunning in  her bridal dress.

Melanie Liertz  has designed a very functional set which is basically Monica’s home office. David Bergman’s soundscape was very effective with good bridging music between scenes. Verity Hampson’s  lighting design was her usual high quality work.

This is a fine production of a very worthy play. When are we ever going to get over our obsession with the ‘right’ body shape and just let people be themselves?!

Recommended, a Seymour Centre production, Alana Valentine’s MADE TO MEASURE is playing the Reginald Theatre at the Seymour Centre until Saturday 1 June, 2019.