REVIEW: MARILYN - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE ICON @ UPSTAIRS AT THE GATEHOUSE

🎭 Marilyn: The Woman Behind the Icon

📍 Upstairs at the Gatehouse, 1 North Road, Highgate Village, London, N6 4BD

🗓 Wednesday 20th May 2026

⭐️ 2 Stars

ALL GLOSS, NO GRIT

I have a bit of a confession to make. Years ago, I went through a massive phase of collecting old-school Hollywood memorabilia. My shelves were packed with everything James Dean, Elvis Presley, and, of course, the ultimate blonde bombshell herself, Marilyn Monroe. So, naturally, heading to the gorgeous Upstairs at the Gatehouse last night, I was buzzing.

I practically flew up the steep Highgate Hill from the underground station at full steam, filled with anticipation. I was ready to finally take a deep dive into the real Norma Jeane, stripping away the studio gloss. Unfortunately, what I actually got was less of a deep dive and more of a shallow splash in a puddle left by the downpours earlier in the day.

The setup itself sounds intriguing on paper. Produced by Forever Marilyn Productions to mark her upcoming 100th birthday, the show brings Marilyn back as a sort of ethereal ghost in a bedroom boudoir, looking down and narrating her life story while her younger self, Norma Jeane, acts it out on earth. It’s an interesting framing device that splits the icon between two actresses, aiming to bridge the gap between the myth and the flesh-and-blood woman.

Regrettably, the writing by Andrea Milton-Furlotti is wafer-thin and frustratingly surface-level. Marilyn led an absolutely incredible, complex, and tragic life, but so much of it here is either hastily skimmed over or completely left out. The words spoken by the ghostly narrator Marilyn sound less like a poetic reflection and more like someone simply reading out a Wikipedia listing. Where was the gravitas? Where was the meaning, the grit, the raw emotion? What's heartbreaking is that you can tell this show was born out of a genuine love for Marilyn, which makes the lazy execution all the more baffling.

The cast, to their absolute credit, do the very best they can with the flimsy material they’ve been handed. Alice Mayer does a really good job of showing the physical transition from a stuttering, insecure young girl into the confident, iconic movie star we all recognise. But again, it’s the writing that completely hampers her character arc. In what feels like mere seconds, we watch her land her first big movie contract and then suddenly rocket straight into a psychiatric clinic.. There is literally no real depiction of her downward spiral or how she got there, leaving the audience entirely detached from her pain.

Katherine Alpen gives the evening's strongest performance. Taking on multiple supporting roles, she brings great vocal projection and a sharp dose of believability to a stage that desperately needs it.

On the production side, I actually really enjoyed the lighting design by Yigit Ince. On first inspection, the stage looks quite dull and understated. However, the simplicity of it - essentially just a shifting use of stark white washes - works brilliantly. It cleverly highlights the exposure, isolation, and absolute vulnerability of the starlet under the Hollywood microscope.

Then we have the music by Tom Fowkes. The tunes themselves are quite enjoyable, and the cast delivers them well, but the lyrics sadly fall into the exact same trap as the script - far too on-the-nose. The advertising for the show insists on calling this a "play with songs", but let’s call a spade a spade here. If characters are bursting into song to reveal their innermost feelings or to progress the plot, it’s a musical. I couldn't help but wonder why the creatives were so terrified of the M-word.

This identity crisis is, unfortunately, the defining theme of the entire production. The show is awkwardly stuck somewhere between a dry documentary and a theatrical stage show. To make matters worse, the pacing is killed by the bizarre inclusion of an interval. There is absolutely no logistical reason for a break in a show this short. There are no major set changes or complex costume swaps to facilitate. All the interval manages to do is bring what little dramatic momentum they had built to a grinding halt, from which the second half never fully recovers.

For a show carrying the tagline "The Woman Behind the Icon," I walked out of the theatre feeling like I knew less about the real Norma Jeane than I did walking in. It's true that both actresses managed to inhabit the icon, however, this is ultimately a beautifully staged but empty tribute.

Performances of MARILYN: THE WOMAN BEHIND THE ICON continue at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until Sunday 24th May. CLICK HERE to find out more and, if you want to make up your own mind on this centenary tribute, book tickets.

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one person.

My ticket for this performance of Marilyn: The Woman Behind the Icon was gifted by Forever Marilyn Productions who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.

CAST LIST:

Alice Mayer as Young Marilyn; Donna King as Marilyn, After; Katherine Alpen as Aunt Ida / Paula Strasberg / Nurse; Jamie Withers as Joe DiMaggio / Warren Beatty / Agent; Andrea Milton-Furlotti as Gladys

RUNNING TIME (approx):

1 hour 10 minutes, including interval

CONTENT WARNINGS:

References to childhood trauma, domestic violence, mental illness; Depiction of substance abuse and implied suicide

AGE GUIDANCE:

14+

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