Sugar Theatre’s work is built on the philosophy: 'We have LOTS of feelings and we think you may feel some of them too…' And in F**k You, Claire, their latest piece as part of The Playhouse’s AMPLIFY Season, those feelings have been powerfully packaged and delivered in a funny, deeply emotive and beautifully nuanced one-woman performance...
In her interview with Left Lion last week, Rosie Hollingworth, the writer and performer of F**k You, Claire described the piece as ‘a playful exploration of mid-twenties confusion, existential curiosities and fears, and mental health recovery (with a banging soundtrack)’ And it is just that.
It’s the story of Penelope - a young woman juggling the pressures of independence, mounting (many of them self-imposed) expectations, and spiralling mental health. The play’s titular Claire is the chaotic, personified version of Penelope’s inner demons that crashes through her thoughts and into her life with relentless, often comically aggressive energy. It’s a smart conceit that’s allowed Hollingsworth to build out and externalise the noise that most of us carry, but often struggle to name.
More than that though, is the heart with which the whole piece has been crafted. It feels intimate and personal, raw in its telling. The tight studio theatre space and stripped back, bare bones staging work perfectly here, not only capturing the chaos of Penelope’s life and mind, but also serving to elevate and pull focus on the performance and presence of the character herself.
that sense of not being alone in the mess of life
Hollingsworth is magnetic and totally natural onstage, shifting effortlessly between comedic beats, while still being able to land the emotional moments with care and weight. There’s a warmth and a vulnerability to her delivery that invites the audience in and keeps them there. It’s sincere and generous and shines with honesty.
You could feel the audience leaning in throughout, recognising our own scribbled to-do lists, missed deadlines, our own internal Claires, our own relentless self-critique. Hollingworth’s and Sugar Theatre’s hope for a ‘collective sigh of relief’ - that sense of not being alone in the mess of life - genuinely landed here.
The piece is still very much a work in progress, but the heart and the structure of something really powerful is there. Younger voices are desperately needed in the theatre space, now more than ever, and F**K You, Claire looks to have all the makings of the kind of work that can genuinely resonate with new, younger audiences - honest, messy, and unapologetically alive.
And true to her word, the soundtrack was absolutely banging.
F**K You, Claire, as part of the Amplify Festival, appeared at the Nottingham Playhouse on Friday 4th of July 2025.
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