Googling the how to’s of being a grown up? ‘A Doll’s Life’ is a fun look at the Quarter-Life Meltdown

Everyone goes through it at some point or another. It’s the moment when the early optimism of adulthood ends up with a hard landing around age 25. Bills, breakups, bodily malfunctions, and wardrobe disasters—welcome to the Quarter-Life Crisis.

It’s when you realise society kind of demands from you to have your life somewhat together. This, when you’re still Googling the how to’s and the don’ts of being a grown up.

Actress and writer Micaela Tucker’s quarter life crisis hit particularly hard. But rather than lament in sackcloth and ashes alone, she turned the chaos of her life into A Doll’s Life.

It’s a one-woman show about as unfiltered as it gets, and it’s coming to Joburg’s Theatre on the Square for a ten-day run between 19-29 March.

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Tucker said she had always dreamed of creating a solo show.

“It was something I always had in the back of my mind, but I never really knew what I wanted to say,” she said.

That changed, of course, as she approached her 26th birthday, fresh from a turbulent year that gave her plenty of material to mull.

“I just had so much happening to me that was noteworthy of jotting down and creating a storyline,” she said. “And I thought the best gift to myself and to formally depart from my 25th year, to give myself this one-woman show.”

It started in a bar

A Doll’s Life began not in a traditional theatre, but in a bar in Sea Point, Cape Town, with a capacity that maxed out at 60 people.

Its Quarter Life crisis theme was an instant smash and demand quickly exceeded the available seats, said Tucker.

She crammed in up to 20 people over capacity every night.

“We did ten shows over November last year, and even then, there were still people who hadn’t seen it,” Tucker said.

That success led to a second run last month, also sold to the rafters.

“The show just keep getting bigger and bigger,” she said. “Really, the gift keeps getting bigger and bigger for myself.”

The play shares her chaos of being 25, a time when adulthood seems to drop its full weight on her shoulders all at once.

“I had recently moved to Cape Town from Joburg, and suddenly I had to find a new dentist, a new waxing lady, a new gynaecologist,” she said. “And then I received some kind of life-changing news at the gynaecologist’s office,” she said.

That, coupled with the fallout of a messy breakup and the disorienting realisation that she was now officially an adult, created the perfect storm in her life’s teacup.

“I think 25 is the first time you really start taking ownership and responsibility of your life,” she said. “Like, fuck, okay, I need to get my shit together.”

But A Doll’s Life isn’t just a show for women suffering through the same existential crisis. Tucker said it’s for everyone.

“If anything, this is going to be a huge learning experience for men,” she hinted.

“I really encourage all women to bring their partners, their fathers, their sons , because every man should know about this, too. It’s advertised as a girls’ night out, but really, it’s for everyone..”

The show is magical

Performing the same material night after night, especially when a Quarter Life crisis was this close to home, might sound exhausting, but Tucker said that no matter how many times she does the show, the magic stays alive.

“There’s this thing in acting that every time you’re doing a show, you’re telling it to new ears,” she said.

“So it has to be the first time you are saying it. That’s where the magic happens.”

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: The Theatre on The Square, Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton

Dates: 19 – 29 March 2025

Tickets: Available now on Quicket

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