Review: Unlucky Me (Bread and Roses Theatre)

Last year I was invited to review a rehearsed reading of Unlucky Me. This week I returned to the Bread and Roses Theatre to see how the show has developed so far.

Once again there were six actors involved in the show, but this was a very different experience to the rehearsed reading, and the fact it was staged brought the play alive.

The story itself is difficult to describe without spoilers, but what I will say is it definitely does not sit neatly into one genre. Alongside a dark narrative involving gangs, violence and death there were elements of comedy as well as a few other surprises, and this kept the play interesting. Some of the comedy lines stood out well, breaking through the grit of some scenes in particular.

The cast worked well together. Emily Serdahl shone as Jane, and I feel like this character has been developed since the last time I saw the show. I’d still like to see more of Jane however, as the show continues to move forward.

Elouise Rouse was convincing in the role of Sophie, her persuasive manner managing to gain empathy even though Sophie is a questionable character at times.

Jayden Crawford in the lead role of Lucky showed a mixture of strength and vulnerability which was interesting to see. I particularly enjoyed his monologue towards the end of the show, which was gripping to watch.

I would still like to know more about these characters, and I feel there will be ongoing developments by writers Kym Nash and Shannon Stuart, which is always a good thing.  I mentioned in my earlier review I wished I could find out more about the backstories of some of the characters – this point still stands and part of me wonders if there could be a flashback added in or some other way to flesh these out a bit more.

There were substantial additions also with lighting, sound effects and music, (designed by the writers with tech by Karim Shohdy). These definitely added to the enjoyment of the play.

The use of blackout during this version of the production was, in my personal opinion, excessive. In a couple of cases I could understand the need for it, but definitely not in every instance.  Being plunged into darkness so regularly sadly took the impact of this tool away.

However, I definitely enjoyed this staged version of the play more.  The story has become a little clearer, and although there is still room for development, it was an enjoyable evening all in all.

⭐⭐⭐

This run of Unlucky Me has now finished, but future performances have been booked during Camden Fringe in the summer of 2026. This is one to see if you have an open mind about seeing a developing play, which pushes against genre boundaries.

If you would like to see my curtain call photographs from this and other shows, please visit my Instagram.

I was gifted a ticket for this show in exchange for an honest review.