Unlike most sequels, Rosalie Minnitt’s Clementine 2 is anything but superfluous, progressing the character’s journey and arc even if the character herself is resistant to it. What occurs is an hour full of highly tongue-in-cheek, stream of consciousness narration wrapped around our favourite tropes as we are taken on the next part of Lady Clementine’s journey of self-actualisation.
Set amidst the family’s financial ruin and general political unrest, Lady Clementine (Rosalie Minnitt) goes to the Big City in order to make her way in the world, running into her former childhood friend Lady Satsuma.
Minnitt’s writing and acting entwine perfectly in the character of Lady Clementine, playing on the slight ridiculousness of this larger-than-life Regency stereotype which is thrust in the middle of a changing world, but is a character who herself refuses to change. For example, although revolution rages in the background, Minnitt instead focuses on tackling more personal issues such as female friendship, analysing the penchant of the media to create rivalries and competition between female characters. In this way, Minnitt touches on the larger societal exhaustion with current affairs, almost granting us permission to switch off from the macro context to focus on our micro, personal issues and concerns, Minnitt’s own twist on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Through the ages there has been some debate about which is mightier, the pen or the sword. In this comparative, it is very clear that there are few things mightier than Minnitt’s pen, as Clementine 2 would not be the show that it is without the strength of Minnitt’s writing and sheer immersion in the tropes and stereotypes that she utilises throughout the hour. The humour in Clementine 2 is often found and is therefore reliant on the gap between the Regency tropes and the frequent modern cultural references, and the self-awareness of the specificity that Minnitt uses. However, it is only because of Minnitt’s over-the-top, unserious and almost ham performance that we are sold on the narrative’s tonality and writing techniques. In this way, Minnitt has tapped very thoroughly and accurately into the cultural zeitgeist, and many of the laughs that her jokes and references receive are largely through the recognition and sheer absurdity that is generated with their inclusion in this almost surreal adventure.
With its chameleon-like purpose and narrative, there is something here for everyone to experience and enjoy. Minnitt explores the tropes and stereotypes with such sharpness and accuracy that we can see the parallels being drawn between womanhood then and now before our eyes, which makes Lady Clementine a rather timeless character.
While we await Lady Clementine’s inevitable next outing to see where her stubborn refusal to mature takes her next, you can keep up with Minnitt’s latest antics and future show announcements on Instagram.
