one4review | On 21, Aug 2025

Watching LA Baby, I felt as though Ambrosine Davies was letting us peek directly into the mess and mayhem of her Los Angeles years. From the start, she comes across as someone we can instantly root for: a wannabe actress full of hope yet constantly knocked down by humiliating auditions and the strange, stilted energy of Hollywood social life. There’s a raw honesty in the way she shares her missteps, and while the stories are painful, she tells them with such gentle humour that you can’t help but laugh along, even as you wince.
Beneath the comic awkwardness lies something far more sinister—an abusive relationship that Ambrosine clings to, and the financial desperation that pushes her into a nannying job for Jay, a man whose own troubles spill dangerously into her world. It’s uncomfortable, and yet it never slips into hopelessness, because Ambrosine herself is so engaging. She carries us with her, and I never stopped hoping she’d find a way to break free.
The performance feels intimate, like a conversation with a friend who is finally sharing the stories she’s been carrying for years. I left not only entertained but moved, with a genuine sense of admiration for Davies’ resilience and her ability to turn hardship into something both tender and funny.

****
Reviewed by Rona
Zoo Playground – Playground 2
3.35pm
Until 24th August