Conscious Uncoupling - Face to Face Festival 2018

FIVE STARS from remotegoat.com               ★★★★★

Review of Rosie Wilby: The Conscious Uncoupling

"Deeply moving Brighton Fringe Highlight"

From start to finish-Rosie Wilby has the audience in the palm of her hand and this show triumphs on all levels. Already an established stand -up comedienne- this hour long exploration of the many strands of separation in a relationship-combines her arch view of life, eloquent and poetical "diary accounts" -all beautifully underscored by Richard Hawley's haunting music.

There are so many elements combined in this piece -written, performed and blended to perfection- bringing a tear to the eye one moment and a smile to the lips the next.

The key to the productions success is the writer/performer's ability to switch effortlessly between stand up comedy, recounting the communication between her past relationship ,by the clever use of reading emails from a tablet and balancing both with deeply moving and romantic writing of how the relationship evolved and hit the highs and lows. The piece never becomes over-sentimental, maintains focus and ultimately leaves us with a feeling of euphoria and positivity.

There are some hilarious moments -particularly the use of the "Ghosts of Christmas" -past ,present and future- which highlight the various stages of her relationship break up and Rosie's consummate skill in drawing her audience into her story makes this a beautifully intimate and thought provoking gem.

Simple, effective but deeply moving -this show leaves you wanting more and is one of the highlight's of this year's Brighton Fringe.