Theatre / “Pony”, Griffin Theatre Company. At The Courtyard Theatre, June 23. Reviewed by SAMARA PURNELL.

CARDI B’s “W.A.P” pounds through the speakers before the lights dim.

Hazel (Briallen Clarke), struts in wearing sparkly cowboy boots, tassels and with a pink, sparkle-encrusted drink-bottle.

This 37-year-old is stuck between “living her best life” and imminently becoming a mother. Not quite ready to give up drinking, or deal with her ageing mother selling the family home, Hazel begins to regale the audience with various events that have led to this point, before she takes us on the ride to the finish line with her.

The one-woman show, written by Eloise Snape and directed by Anthea Williams, has Clarke taking on the voices and mannerisms of several characters: Her best friend Liv and her mother, whose Upper North shore accent of a “right-wing Meryl Streep” was delightfully perfect, her own mother, her wickedly rebellious nanna, her husband, the no-nonsense birthing coach and the story/sing time librarian Mrs Twinkles.

Liv is fed up with Hazel’s lateness and her misguided attempts to organise outings and appropriate gatherings.

Hilarious stories ensue, of baby showers, gender reveals and male stripper incidences gone awry. Fumbling her way through her 30s, Hazel’s stories include meeting a man, over a cheese wheel, who was meant to be a sexual experiment and ended up as her husband. He’s a woke, calm man and there are some quite delightful descriptions of their more intimate moments and the sincerity with which he takes the pregnancy massages.

Hazel is deep in cahoots with nanna, whether she’s winding Hazel up at a male revue (complete with penis balloons tied to her walking-stick), or hosting happy hour with prohibition whiskey in the nursing home.

Clarke sustains a good pace over the performance, allowing some lines to sink in, while skipping lightly over other jokes that are still picked up by the audience.

There are, however, a couple of phrases and songs used in tedious repetition. The timeline jumps around until near the end in the lead-up to Hazel’s labour.

Clarke remains likeable and personable despite some cringe-worthy situations, crass descriptions, salty language and a secret addiction to the reality TV show “Below Deck”.

Unobtrusively effective lighting design and a set consisting of a striking wall of iridescent pink and blue scales and a huge rocking horse with a stripper pole through it was sufficient and the horse was used in many permutations to demonstrate sexual encounters, the birthing process and nights out, to name a few. The title of the play comes into its own during the final stages of birth. Surprisingly, a pregnancy belly prosthetic is not used by Clarke.

Whilst “Pony” doesn’t hold back on the uncomfortably gory details of events, the show has a little more to it, exploring shifting dynamics and relationships of friendships, family and Hazel’s somewhat inexplicable obsession with the children’s group at the local library. It is tinged with sadness, anger and anxiety over her own parents’ choices but is mostly a riotous romp with fantastical details thrown in.

“Pony” is an engaging show that many will likely relate to. Trying to prepare for an inevitable birth, motherhood, and a body that is no longer just hers, deep down, Hazel is scared and anxious, yet hoping for another happy ending.