By: Keiran Potter
A universal truth. Life is sh*t!
Hearing Jessica Hepburn echo this sentiment on stage makes you think about how easy it is to get hung up on disappointment or failures. The saying, ‘if you sit in sh*t too long it stops smelling‘, comes to mind.
Life can be heavy and draining, yet within that mess lies the possibility of change. It seems the trick is having the courage to lift the map, choose a direction, and set off on a new adventure.
That is exactly the spirit captured in Jessica Hepburn’s Great Adventure.
For the first of three talk style shows, Jessica Hepburn, author, arts producer, and adventure advocate, is joined by record breaking polar explorer Ann Daniels.
The hour or so discussion that follows proves that life’s most extraordinary stories are not only about what we endure, but about who we choose to share them with.
Which is what makes this premise work so well as a piece of theatre – every night Jessica and a special guest will share their adventures with the audience, and by just being privy to these details – the audience are taken on an adventure of their own.
The opening of the evening takes the form of a part-scripted introduction.
Jessica speaks with disarming honesty about her career and her long IVF journey, and how what she once saw as ‘failure’, ultimately became the catalyst for her transformation into an advocate for adventure.
Structured yet intimate, the opening act tells Jessica’s story with humour without sacrificing any vulnerability.
Before our guest, Ann Daniels, is invited on stage, a new set is built before our eyes. A campsite-style nook is created, complete with a pile of wooden sticks lit from above to cast the warm orange glow of a campfire. Jessica then invites six audience members to join her around it, emphasising that this, in itself, will be an adventure.
It is new, it may feel scary, and the outcome at this point in the show is still unknown.
In doing so, she widens the frame, adventure is not just climbing Chomolungma, or swimming the English Channel, but also stepping out of your comfort zone and into the unexpected – right here in the theatre.
The tone shifts when Ann Daniels joins the mix, the show goes from heavily scripted to live podcast interview.
A pioneering polar explorer, Ann Daniels brings her own stories of adventure and hardship, and together the two adventurers create a dialogue that is as generous as it is inspiring.
Jessica is an immaculate moderator and host, allowing Ann’s stories, ranging from an IVF journey of her own, to terrifying polar bear encounters, to breathe and sit with the audience. Expertly adding in a follow up question here, and a shared anecdote there. All whilst maintaining the flow of what could otherwise be quite a chaotic structure.
What stuck with me most was the way Jessica chose to end this particular adventure.
The evening closes with a moment of profound intimacy that left many in the audience in tears by the show’s closing moments.
Jessica asks Ann what song she would choose to accompany her “final adventure”, her death. Following Ann’s response and seemingly without Ann’s prior knowledge, Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever” is played in full.
As the audience witnesses Ann’s genuine, tearful reaction, time seems to still almost to the point of discomfort – but then again by this point in the show we have learned that not every adventure can or needs to be comfortable.
The gesture is not just theatrical, it is deeply personal, an offering between friends that the audience feels privileged to share.
Jessica Hepburn’s Great Adventure may be structured in threes. (Jessica’s favourite number). But its power lies in twos. Two adventurers, two voices, two friends whose connection transforms personal feats into something universal.
It is moving, inspirational, and unforgettable.
For anyone needing a reminder that courage isn’t reserved for mountaineers or polar explorers, this is a show worth seeing.
And thank you Jessica, for the powerful reminder. If life is sh*t, then adventure is the shovel. Pick it up. Start digging.