Jodie Rimmer shines in Nicola Cheeseman is Back, written by Kathryn Burnett: a heartfelt, humorous and emotionally raw one-woman play that forms part of the Reimagine Festival at Theatre Royal, TSB Showplace. Directed by Paul Gittins with understated grace, this production dives deep into the soul of a middle-aged woman re-evaluating her life’s meaning amid the chaos of modern womanhood.

Nicola Cheeseman, once the vibrant frontwoman of The Cherry Slits, the band of her youth, finds herself navigating a turbulent middle age — post-separation, juggling teenage children, caring for elderly parents and trying to hold onto a job that’s lost all joy. Rimmer brings this character to life with such authenticity that it’s difficult not to see reflections of ourselves in her struggles.

For women like me in our 50s, Nicola is painfully familiar — a character wrapped in invisibility, doubt, and that constant internal dialogue of, “Is this it?”

The plot follows Nicola’s journey as she attempts to rekindle the spark of her younger years by reforming the band that once gave her life so much colour and freedom. Her determination culminates in a scene that’s both hilarious and deeply symbolic — the arrival of a red latex jumpsuit ordered online, and the comic yet defiant act of squeezing herself into it. It becomes more than a costume; it’s a badge of honour. A declaration that she’s still here, still bold, still unapologetically herself beneath the layers of expectation and time.

What makes this show soar is not just its smart, witty writing, but its emotional resonance. There’s a particularly powerful moment when Nicola stands before a mirror in a bar, confronts her reflection – the one recognisable as her Mother’s — not with shame, but with something closer to mourning and eventual self-acceptance. These moments are raw and quiet, yet thunderously affecting.

In many ways, Nicola Cheeseman is Back feels like a blend of Bridget Jones’ unfiltered charm and Shirley Valentine’s soulful journey of self. But Nicola’s story is uniquely her own — less about reinvention and more about reclamation. She’s not trying to be someone new; she’s trying to remember who she was before life happened.

Rimmer doesn’t disappoint. Her performance is a masterclass in emotional nuance — dry wit, biting sarcasm, awkwardness, joy, rage and grief — all woven together in a single, compelling performance. This is theatre that speaks directly to the hearts of women who have lived — who’ve loved, lost and carried on.

Nicola Cheeseman is Back is more than a comeback; it’s a quiet revolution. For anyone who has ever felt forgotten, this play reminds us: we’re still here and we still matter.

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Playwright Kathryn Burnett tells us in the programme for this world premiere that ‘Nicola came into being after many conversations with female friends and family’ touching on the idea that ‘ageing is normal but somehow we never think it’ll happen to us’.

This one-woman show, written by Burnett and performed with great panache by Jodie Rimmer, jumps into a conversation that is startlingly recognisable, painfully funny and also very touching.

On a set (designed by John Parker) that allows for great fluidity in the performance and supported by lighting (designed by Jane Hakaraia) that clearly defines different areas as the story progresses, Rimmer is able to create a performance that flows through many different locations and times with ease.

Nicola starts the show musing on issues that are clearly recognised by many in the audience such as ‘why is my face falling off?’ and ‘how does the hair redistribution system work?’ The belly laughs from the audience indicate that many of the issues Nicola is facing are shared, and so we are happy to follow where Nicola leads us as she attempts to make sense of a life she hardly recognises any more.

Wittily and engagingly, Nicola brings us up to speed on the major events in her life at the moment: helping her mother-in-law move into a care home; dealing with her son’s plans to move out; her husband moving in with 32 year old Mindy and her younger work colleagues failing to recognise her abilities.

Rimmer is able to slip into the other characters in the blink of an eye, cleverly embodying Amanda, Nicola’s self-centred and supercilious boss, her son Ryan (19) and her mother-in-law Ingrid with clarity and skill. The direction by Paul Gittins brings pace and energy to the performance, while also allowing for moments to really touch us.

It soon becomes apparent that Nicola is struggling with her current situation, and so is keen to reinvigorate herself by getting the Cherry Slits, the nouveau punk band she used to be a member of before getting married, back together.

Having created a vision board of the life she wants to recapture, and a to-do list including items that range from health to anatomy, Nicola sets out to recapture the joys of a time before hot flushes and care home visits.

As Nicola tracks down her other band members, she sees changes in their lives mirroring those in her own. Each encounter is wonderfully drawn, and interspersed with the events in Nicola’s home life, where she now has to deal with an injured father, an insecure daughter and a husband who is looking to her for reassurance.

Throwing herself into upgrading her looks and her outfits (costume design by Elizabeth Whiting, including a spectacular jumpsuit that plays a very important role in the show), Nicola takes us on a thought-provoking journey of trying to avoid the scree covered slippery slope that leads to old age. At times vulnerable and at others audacious and hilarious, Nicola continues to fight against that slippery slope, convincing her bandmates to reconvene and dealing with the other people in her life in a straightforward fashion.

By the time Nicola puts her spectacular jumpsuit through its paces in a rousing return to the stage, we are supporting her noisily and enthusiastically. Her triumphant performance is not quite the end of the story, and the resolution is satisfying and well earned.

The show has many important things to say about the way women are seen in society as they age, and there are many more things that could be said. By presenting these ideas through a warm, funny and straight-talking character, we are able to receive them clearly and entertainingly. This is a show that connects with its audience in the relatability of its situations and characters, and which has much to offer all ages and genders.

On getting home after the show, I received news of the passing of an amazing older lady. This touching show is a wonderful nouveau punk love song to the idea of growing bold rather than old, which is an idea that I think this wonderful lady would have heartily endorsed.

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