Skip to main content
Juliet manqué
PETER MASON suggests that someone should fulfil the dreams of a talented (and privileged) British Nigerian actor

Main Character Energy
Soho Theatre, London

 


FOR a flamboyant, self-confessed “attention whore” such as Temi Wilkey there could be no better thing than a one-woman show, which is presumably why she wrote one for herself.

As the focus on a stage-in-the-round, unaccompanied by anything other than a soft pink ottoman from which she draws objects from her past, Wilkey’s role in Main Character Energy is to allow all eyes to fall on her, which is the way she likes it.

Her teenage wish, she says, was to go to Hollywood “where I could have the severe eating disorder I dreamed of.” Now 32 and with her Nigerian genes taking shape in ways she never bargained for, she reflects on the story of her life-in-drama so far, seeking to find out why she’s failed to make the breakthrough she’s been looking for.

Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Exhibition review / 21 March 2025
21 March 2025
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
Film of the Week: / 20 March 2025
20 March 2025
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
Short Story / 7 February 2025
7 February 2025
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
BenchMarx / 28 January 2025
28 January 2025
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
Similar stories
Theatre Review / 5 February 2025
5 February 2025
PETER MASON applauds a thought-provoking study of the relationship between a grieving woman and her photographer
TV Series / 3 January 2025
3 January 2025
JONAH RASKIN compares the tepid fare of the Netflix series Black Doves with a gritty Polish alternative
Theatre Review / 9 December 2024
9 December 2024
PETER MASON is moved by a striking production of Noel Streatfeild’s enduringly popular children’s book
Theatre review / 22 April 2024
22 April 2024
LYNNE WALSH sees form suffocate all-important content in a groundbreaking 1928 play