By Harriet Ernstons-Evans
Every Sex and the City fan identifies with Carrie, Samantha, Miranda or Charlotte – but one woman has taken on the task of combining all four personas into one show.
One Woman Sex and the City has taken the US by storm with its celebration of female friendships and the best bits of the television show, and now performer Kerry Ipema is bringing it to the UK for the first time, coming to Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury on Friday, May 11.
Kerry, who’s mostly Carrie with a little bit of Miranda, has co-created the show with director TJ Dawe and aims to recreate the atmosphere of the many brunches the four women shared during six series and two films.
Audience members are invited to share their dating disasters and deal breakers, which are then read live on stage.
Kerry says: “The idea is to leave feeling like your belly’s hurting from laughter, but also feeling empowered and grateful for the support from your girlfriends.
“What’s been really fantastic is when I look at the Facebook posts I see all of these girlfriends tagging their best friends to come and see the show.
“It’s great creating a community amongst all these women every night. The show really is a conversation and it changes every time because of the audience on the night.”
And the beauty of the show is it doesn’t necessarily matter if you’ve seen the original Sex and the City.
“It’s definitely written with fans in mind, but people do come who haven’t seen it. If you don’t know the show, there’s definitely some laughs still to be had,” Kerry adds.
“I was eight years old when the show came out and I stumbled upon it when I was in college. What’s amazing about that is the show was already over by the time I discovered it.
“Sometimes three generations of women come and see the show, who all found it at different ages.
“Any single woman who’s dated knows there’s truth in the horror stories!”
Kerry grew up in Chicago, moving to New York (the city where Sex and the City is based) and pursuing improv – taking part in a secret-sharing show Postsecret where she met co-creator TJ who asked her if she was interested in writing the SATC show.
“I immediately said yes! It caught on fire and has taken me all across the US and is now taking me to the UK, which is very exciting.
“It’s a real privilege to be able to share the show with audiences.
“There is a horrible idea that women aren’t funny, so it’s a real privilege to go on stage in front of women specifically. It feels like a mini protest – saying we are funny, we can be on stage for an hour and a half and be funny, and support each other too.
“We still have a long way to go but it feels like looking out for others and being part of a bigger message.”
Visit www.onewomansatc.com for more information about the show or click here to book tickets for the Theatre Severn performance.
