It’s Britney, bitch. Amid the trend of Britney Spears-inspired shows popping up at this year’s Fringe, Saving Britney ties together Spears’ life experiences to those of a mega-fan navigating her formative years. A noughties nostalgia trip that offers peppy quips and moving reflections on sexuality and identity, the show explores the “cosmic connections” between female public figures and those who idolise them, but sometimes glosses over Spears’ experiences.
The immediate sight of a clothing rack adorned with iconic Britney pieces — from the …Baby One More Time schoolgirl uniform to the infamous VMAs snake — sets up the atmosphere for an hour of niche Britney Spears trivia and hyper-specific pop culture throwbacks. A looming poster board filled with erratic collages of Britney photos and memos throughout the years speaks louder than any words to convey our protagonist Jean’s obsession with Spears.
Shereen Roushbaiani is a dynamic storyteller, embodying the bright eyes and erratic effervescence of Jean’s school days before later conveying her more contemplative, matured adult years. Lying back on pink fluffy cushions or gushing over Britney’s latest hits, Roushbaiani’s free-wheeling energy captures Jean’s untamed spirit. In the script’s most weighty, tender moments grappling with grief, absent parental figures and the pressures of adulthood, Roushbaiani’s portrayal of a grieving daughter is tender and nuanced.
With time shifts punctuated by medleys of Britney songs and flashing disco lights, a stream-of-consciousness style script gives us access to Jean’s innermost confessions. We go on a whistle stop tour of Britney fun facts and noughties nostalgia, from Polly Pockets to Clueless impressions (as if!). The most successful comedic moments come from unexpected dry humour jabbing at casual misogyny, or the universal experience of learning that a male pop idol shouldn’t be idolised.
Unlike what the name Saving Britney suggests, the attention given to Spears’ conservatorship and the #FreeBritney movement feels glossed over. The constant effort to relate Spears’ experience to Jean’s sometimes detracts from examining Spears’ mistreatment in its own right. The ending is more of a sweeping ode to millennial coming-of-age experiences and fangirls than a conclusion that ties together Jean’s story while revisiting Spears’. Still, Saving Britney is a warm, nostalgic and touching celebration of girlhood and embracing your identity.
Saving Britney is running until 30 August (not 24) at Bluebell at Underbelly George Square. Buy tickets here.
Image by David Shopland, provided to The Student as press material.
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