In Conversation With Stacey Dooley At Poole Lighthouse Theatre Review

Reviewed by Hannah S-W

Despite living locally I have not been to Poole lighthouse theatre for many years and it was lovely to be back. Ample parking is available from carparks around the lighthouse theatre so there is no cause for concern about struggling to get situated. The staff at the lighthouse were warm and welcoming upon approach and more than happy to help when needed. The theatre itself has a cozy feel to it making the event feel incredibly intimate and have feel of friends having a discussion about topics rather than being talked at about the topics on the table; and this echoed the demeanour and feel you get from Stacey in her documentaries and programs she has done.

Having not seen much of Stacey’s documentaries I had a quick scan on BBC I player and was surprised as to how much journalism she has done, as I had only known her for her presenting of TV programs. In Stacey’s career she has presented numerous documentaries ranging from War documentaries, whale hunting to being inside convents. One of her recent documentaries is in to on the goings-on of a psychiatric unit which aired recently on BBC Three. Although it wasn’t required I did watch some of her documentaries on mental health prior to going to watch her talk on the subject; just to help me gain some insight to the types of subjects she would be looking at tackling.

Unsure as to how the format of a discussion evening would take form, as it was my first time at an event such as this, I was pleasantly surprised. The show was co-hosted by Zara McDermott and she did a wonderful job of facilitating the interview. It was so interesting to hear the story of where Stacey started her career and to see how she became involved with making documentaries. It was fascinating to see how she has grown through the years as a female journalist. Stacey referenced her documentary in Springfield hospital and meeting some of the patients and stories that she had learned. A wonderful addition to this was that she was aware of someone she had met during this time was in the audience tonight and how happy she was that this person had made such leaps in their journey to now be able to feel that they can come to such an event. Stacey also spoke about a harrowing storey that she filmed with a friend Mina Smallman. The documentary called Two Daughters and how they had both been murdered during lockdown. Mina had requested Stacey to do the documentary as she wanted white woman to be as outraged about the atrocities black woman face as black woman are. A truly hard hitting story that gain gasps around a pin drop silent theatre.

Alongside discussions of her documentaries she also spoke about her journey in filming other shows such as Strictly and the fun and things that had happened whilst presenting the show Sleeps Over. Certainly and interesting story was revealed about 2 Americans she stayed with. Stacey said how she sees Americans as a gift and by all accounts these 2 definitely were. It was a lovely addition to the show as it created some needed relief from some of the topics that were discussed.

She also gave a sneak peek in to future documentaries that she has planned. Her next documentary will be looking around death. Due to her spending time with sisters in a convent whilst making the documentary called Inside The Convent she was aw struck by Sister Jocelyn and how she spoke with and how calm and accepting they were of death.

Following on from the discussion topics it was then opened up to the floor for the audience to have a Q&A session. The questions were asked via a QR code presented on the screen, allowing all members of the audience to ask questions online before they were asked at random.

Stacey’s book Are You Really Ok was also available to buy in the theatre.

Tickets started from £25.30 at the Lighthouse website https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/
Rating: I would give the show a 4/5 and would definitely recommend it. In Conversation with Stacey Dooley at Poole Lighthouse was a one night only showing; however if it were to return I would recommend coming along.

The Lighthouse is at 21 Kingland Rd, Poole BH15 1UG and they can be contacted on 01202 280000