Red Bus Londinium Life

Camp, colourful, covidy fun and with just the right amount of poignancy, Here You Come Again is a very appealing night out for both fans of Dolly Parton and non-fans alike.

Cut off from the world, we all struggled with our mental health in 2020. Banana bread, sour dough starters and language learning prevailed. The sense that you needed to somehow fill your empty days with worthwhile activity could be overwhelming and stressful.

During this time, Emmy-award winning writer Bruce Vilanchi paired up with his wife Tricia Paoluccio (the epitome of a living, breathing Dolly) and Gabriel Barre to create a show imagining how gay icon Dolly could bring relief to a lonely isolated man, Kevin, stuck in his parent’s attic.

The New Wimbledon Theatre is currently hosting the London leg of a touring version of the show they created, after its success in the US. British writer Jonathan Harvey has helped re-set this in Britain: complete with references to Dundee cake and saucepan drumming for the NHS.

The strength of this show lies in its leads. In lesser hands, it could descend into farce but for Tricia Pauluccio’s razor-sharp performance as Dolly Parton. It is easy to suspend disbelief and play along with the premise that she is right there in Kevin’s attic dispensing country wisdom.

The show is peppered with real anecdotes about Parton’s life. Yes, she really did lose a Dolly-look-a-like contest (to a man). And yes, her husband really was an asphalt paver. Jolene was a flirtatious bank teller, too.

Steven Webb captures the angst of single forty-something Kevin perfectly. His delivery of some of his lines, such as confessing to drunk Facebooking, is so genuine it is hard to believe he is not unburdening himself for the first time. He manages to be both pathetic and lovable. The audience are clearly on his side as can be heard by the cheers when he seizes his own path toward the end of the show.

The show is centred around the two leads with the musicians only occasionally stepping in to play other characters. The music is energetically performed and had everyone on their feet for a mega-mix finale.

The show suffered from homophobic attacks earlier in its tour. This is always inexcusable. In terms of this show, it is also inexplicable to see how people could find something to hate in such a sweet and natural story that is a charming and heart-warming night out.

[Thank you to New Wimbledon theatre for the gifted tickets for an honest review].