REVIEW: Janis Joplin – Full Tilt, Theatre Royal Stratford East ✭✭✭

Angie Darcy in Janis Joplin Full Tilt at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

Janis Joplin: Full Tilt Theatre Royal Stratford East 3 Stars Book Tickets This Edinburgh Fringe sell out is the closest thing you will get to watching Janis Joplin in concert. A hybrid of live gig and monologue, the play gives voice to both the talent and the trauma that led Janis into a life of addiction. Angie Darcy in the title role has an impressive command of Joplin’s raspy tones, the wailing, and supercharged emotional delivery that propelled her into stardom. If the acting fails to match her superb vocal range, there is still much to enjoy in this celebration of a loved music icon. Darcy embodies a sexually forthright persona, and exudes confidence as she seduces the audience through both song and speech. She is an electric Pearl (Janis’s stage alter-ego), but unfortunately, the element of performance never quite disappears. When on the recurring subject of loneliness and her … Read more