Tell us about your show, KAREN.
KAREN is a fast paced one woman show about our Protagonist, who gets dumped on her 30th birthday at Alton Towers mid-way through a Calippo. Things go from bad to worse when it is revealed that Protagonist’s long term boyfriend Joe has been having an affair with her arch nemesis: Karen. And the cherry on top? They all work in the same office.
We see our heroine navigate a powder keg of heartbreak, societal pressure and identity crisis which explodes in the ultimate office finale as the final straw breaks the camel’s back.
What inspired the show?
Originally, I wrote the show as a 10-minute sketch on my notes app for the monologue competition Project Passion hosted by Velvet Smoke Productions in October 2021.
I just wanted to try my hand at writing comedy as I had gotten really into writing sketches over the pandemic and had started writing my own comedy TV show Jaq and Jill with my friend, and now business partner, Lucy Nicholson. I was thrilled to be selected as one of 5 finalists which meant that I got to perform KAREN at the White Bear in Kennington to a live audience.
I was utterly terrified as this was the first time I was going on solo with something that I had written and worst of all, it was what I thought was funny. I could only pray that the audience thought the same. Waiting backstage the two-minutes before going on was the scariest pre-show nerves I had ever had!
Luckily, people seemed to enjoy it and I was encouraged to turn it into a one woman show. It stayed on the backburner for 2022 and in 2023 I decided to launch myself into the Edinburgh Fringe. Thanks to that deadline and the wonderful creative facilitation of my director Evie Ayres-Townshend, KAREN finally came into being.
What made you choose the structure of a one-woman-show for this story?
In truth, I think a lot of creatives when starting out try to keep the cast small as they can. It is nigh on impossible to get a large group of people together consistently for rehearsal on top of their regular 9-5 job. Or like most actors, your several part time jobs.
So logistically, I knew I could rely on myself to make time and that I didn’t have to be beholden to other people’s schedules to just get out there and make something.
A huge part of creating KAREN came from that need as well, the feeling that after the pandemic, I was waiting for the phone to ring for acting jobs which can drive you crazy. Whereas creating something on my own, I felt in control and I could see my progress day by day.
I also wanted the challenge of a writing and performing a solo show. I had never done that before and to face the fear that there is nowhere to hide and no fellow actors to pick you up if you trip – it felt like an exciting next step for my acting.
What made you want to engage so directly with the audience as part of this show?
It really came from a comment that a friend made to me after seeing me in a two-hander comedy called Eggs by Florence Keith-Roach. She said; “I would have loved it so much more if you actually looked at me – it seems silly that you are so close and looking out but not talking to me.” Bear in mind, we were unusually close as we put the show on in my friend’s grandma’s front room for an audience of 10…
Whether you love it or hate it, audience interaction is always funny. So I wondered if I could do the best of both worlds by engaging directly with the audience, but doing all the talking for you so you don’t have to panic about saying the right thing. I started playing around with the idea of a one-sided conversation and how it could escalate. I had so much fun with it that I just let it grow from there.
What do you think makes well-constructed dry, sarcastic wit?
Witty dialogue is a beautiful thing – it’s like fencing with words. I don’t think that I am in any way an expert in well-constructed dry, sarcastic wit and I think the Protagonist in KAREN is more awkward and self-deprecating rather than clever with words.
There is no smug look when she has said the perfect thing because she never says the perfect thing. In fact, she almost says exclusively the opposite.
I think however, the ability to include everyone in your joke is the key to wit. Everyone understands it, but it is not an obvious joke. Catching your audience by surprise is the best and zingy one liners that people remember. That for me is the sweet spot. I also think timing, rhythm and how it is delivered is crucial. It could be the funniest line but it can fall flat without those key ingredients.
How do you feel about the reception the show got at the Fringe?
It was completely overwhelming.
Just before going on stage for my first performance of the Fringe, I realised that this would be the first performance I had done where I didn’t know a single person in the audience. No sympathetic friend or family member to give me a pity laugh if required and I felt like I had made a terrible mistake. This really was the moment to see whether KAREN would sink or swim.
I was overjoyed that it was a sell out on its first night and was greeted by my first 5-star review the next morning by The Nerd Party. After that, the ball was rolling and I just threw myself into it every night and see what I got back. I was delighted with the responses and audience reviews in particular.
How are you feeling about bringing the show to The Other Palace in London?
I feel very grateful to have been accepted into The Other Palace’s programme. When I went to see the space for the first time, I got goosebumps. It absolutely feels like the perfect next step for KAREN to bring it to London and see how it fares. Hopefully London’s sense of humour isn’t too different from Edinburgh…
What are your hopes for the show going forward?
I am delighted to have been invited back to the Edinburgh Fringe to be a part of the Underbelly’s 2024 programme. You will be able to see KAREN at the Dehli Belly at 3:55pm for the whole of August. After that, I am looking into another London run, hopefully a transfer to some of my other favourite theatres. But I am keeping my fingers crossed and just trying to focus on the next few months.
What do you hope people take away from the show?
I hope that people firstly laugh and mainly take away that it was a fun and relatable show about heartbreak. I also hope that highlights that the path to processing your emotions lies in tackling them head on and the importance of finding your voice and advocating for yourself.
Do you have any advice for people hoping to create similar shows?
Get started. That is the hardest part.
Have a think about what inspires you, what you find funny, what you would like to see on stage and start writing it. Add to it little by little every day and then see if you can put it on at a sketch night or do a rehearsed reading and get it up on its feet. Lots of theatres have wonderful opportunities that you can apply for to help you build your show, it doesn’t have to be a finished project before showing it to other people.
I set up my production company Any Second Now Ltd with Lucy Nicholson for precisely this purpose, to help writers, actors and directors come together and work on new material which we would then produce. We created 5 sell out shows at the Hen and Chickens Theatre, The Golden Goose, and The Kings Head for our series called It Takes Two which featured five 15-minute duologues all on the theme of relationships.
It was all about bringing creative people together and allowing you to get your ideas off the ground in a supportive environment. It is what Velvet Smoke did for me and what I would like to do for others.
Once your project starts to take shape, submit it for a run or take it to the fringe and go from there!
Sarah Cameron-West is performing KAREN at The Other Palace in London from Tuesday 19th-Sunday 24th March.
