Lily Allen's arena jaunt is a scaled-up version of the show she took into theatres last year, touring her acclaimed album West End Girl, which at least partly dramatises the real-life breakdown of her four-year marriage to Stranger Things actor David Harbour. Once again, the show opens with string ensemble the Dallas Minor Trio playing instrumental versions of her older hits, which warms up the crowd and provides a rare opportunity to cheerily bellow the likes of The Fear or Fuck You (“very much”) along with several thousand people.
A One-Woman Show with Theatrical Staging
The 41-year-old comes on for the second act, an hour-long one-woman show performing West End Girl with theatrical staging. Looking resplendent – like a modern Ronette – in a dress finished off with a giant bow, she cheerily bounds into the album's title track. Then she takes a phone call, which leaves her tearful.
Unflinching Portrayal of Relationship Breakdown
The songs subsequently unflinchingly trace a relationship breakdown: his alleged desire for an open marriage (“we had an arrangement / it had to be with strangers”), her self-doubt, her ruminating about what is going wrong and her discovery of the texts that indicate there is someone else: “Who the fuck is Madeline?”
Occasionally Auto-Tuned, Allen sings over backing tracks, but while the theatre version faced criticism over the lack of live musicians, the solitary nature of the performance perfectly plays into the isolation in the songs. The clubby sub bass gives a lonely-on-the-dancefloor vibe, but mostly it works because they're such fantastic songs and Allen brilliantly inhabits them as if she's undergoing both exorcism and catharsis. There's humour and some high camp – she discovers some very curious-looking sex toys during Pussy Palace – but she draws on either raw emotion or terrific acting skills as Relapse startlingly re-enacts a breakdown.
A Compelling Discourse on Power and Celebrity
As the later stages of the album shift gear to classic 60s balladry and big pop numbers, the audience wildly cheer her on as she gets to turn the tables. Balloons fall and she relishes lines such as Fruityloop's “It's not me, it's you!” It's certainly an unusual arena show, but as a discourse on power in relationships and perhaps even the emptiness of some celebrity, it's compelling stuff. Lily Allen's West End Girl tour continues in the UK and Ireland until 8 August.
