Last night I watched Deborah Frances White at the Lowry. Although at first I was unsure what I was attending, it was a pleasure to listen to her story, which told of her search on social media to find her birth family.
Deborah Frances White’s show followed the story of her own adoption, beginning with her calling on audience members asking which family members they looked like and if any were adopted. She told the audience that she was always told she looked like her adopted mum and that she had had a very successful adoption. From all of these details given I thought her stage presence and interaction with the audience was amazing, as it was a topic clearly very close to her.
Deborah told us that the topic of finding her birth family had crossed her mind, but she wasn’t sure as once they were found the idea of them she had ‘behind the curtain’ could be ruined, whereas if not, the good things she imagined could still be hers. I found this sad but also hopeful in a way, that her family could be out there if she looked and be everything she wanted them to be.
This begins Deborah’s social media search for her family, and she looks out for one thing, her distinctive eyebrows. This part added humour into the show, as the screen showed various pictures that could be related to her, followed by a pair of her eyebrows over the top to see if they were related. This was by no means an accurate way of deciding, but I found it very funny.
After a long search through the internet she finds some details about her birth mother, and discovers her Facebook and Pinterest account. She then finds one of her mother’s sisters on Pinterest and decides to call her and ask about her birth mother, who once Deborah calls doesn’t seem to know anything about her. Then a waiting game is shown, as her birth mother is supposed to call within ten days, and she calls on day five. The end of the first half of the show ends with Deborah picking up the phone, leaving it on a cliff hanger. I was very intrigued to find out what happened and how her mother would react.
The second half of the show portrays Deborah asking her birth mother a question which she has thought about long and hard; ‘what can you tell me about my father?’ Her birth mother however says she doesn’t know any details and in fact doesn’t think he even knows about her. Then she talks to her sisters and suggests she might go to New Zealand to see them in January, in which they are very fond of the idea. I thought this was a great part in the show as it showed her finally connecting with her birth family.
In New Zealand Deborah is seen to have a lovely time with her family, where she talks to her grandfather they share stories. But she still doesn’t know who her real father is. She finds many possibilities but still doesn’t know.
Deborah Frances White gave an outstanding performance, where she delivered her life story and search for her birth family in such a raw yet witty way.
Reviewer: Claudia Thomas
Reviewed: 3rd April 2016
