Review: Holly Stars: Justice for Holly

Holly Stars has been locked in the security room of Superdrug, her handbag full of stolen lipsticks. Things look bleak because, admittedly, she absolutely loves nicking. But there’s more to the crime than meets the eye, and she’s here to set everything straight.

Stars is an engaging storyteller, zipping seamlessly from tales of the characters on her street – Posh Sue, Mad Michael – to the story of how her accidental international shoplifting syndicate, the Lady Lifters, came about.

She has no shame, which is perhaps the main inspiration to take from Justice for Holly. It’s a celebration of shoplifting, of being a menace to society, of not giving a fuck. Stars knows we’ve all done it, venturing into the audience to get people to admit what they’ve recently nicked (umbrellas from Boots, in this instance). Being in her presence is strangely freeing.

At times, her dead-pan delivery could be mistaken for low-energy, and she might have a tendency to meander, story-wise. However, as the show warms up, occasional shades of Victoria Wood peek through in her matter-of-face anecdotes. The dark asides and well-pitched callbacks mean that laughs in Justice for Holly are solid and dependable, even if Holly herself is not.