(3 / 5)

I’ll be honest – I had no idea about the Gwyneth Paltrow Ski incident. Maybe I’ve been under a rock. But in a way, this was a great introduction, with all the drama and opportunity to make the story even more theatrical.

If you are like me and been under a rock, Gwyneth Goes Skiing looks back, with artistic licence, at the recent court case between Gwyneth Paltrow and the ordinary member of the public, Terry Sanderson, after a collision in the Utah mountains. Awkward Productions have of course interpreted and hammed up this story for our entertainment.

I was introduced to Awkward Productions with Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story only a few months ago, coming out in stitches and with an appreciation for this company’s approach to theatre. Perhaps my expectations due to this were too high, as this particular show didn’t give me the same wow factor.

Compared to Diana, we see more from the company’s production and Joseph Martin’s portrayal of the ordinary man out of the spotlight was hilarious, with moments of ad lib executed perfectly and still in character. Linus Karp, our Gwyneth is also comical but the character felt too much like their Diana character, with the same narrative hooks, movements and gestures. Karp is a fantastic as a performer, but for me, there was just too much similarity between their two characters for me to be allowed to be taken over by the story line.

Like Diana, audience interaction is paramount and this is done really well, with multi-media use and a surprise in the audience choices. The audiences themselves also gave in fully and this made hiccups or narrative surprises very funny and added another level to the production.

While everything at Fringe is shorter, at just over an hour however, this show felt as if it needed just a bit more trimming. The start was delayed slightly by the sold out audience and therefore, while running over schedule anyway, it lead to a lot of quick dashes by the audience. And perhaps it was this atmosphere, but it felt as if our court scene took a while to reach its conclusion. It was a shame to feel this way and with it running over, it felt as if attention in the room was slightly lost.

Gwyneth Goes Skiing is every bit silly, camp and melodramatic. With a few tweaks, this could easily be up with Awkward Productions Diana: The Untold and Untrue story as a masterpiece of fringe theatre.

(3 / 5)

Going into this production, I didn’t think I would be witnessing something so deep. Who thought Spam would evoke such political discourse and commentary on colonialism. Sierra Sevilla combines this and more to bring us this deep and intimate one woman show.

For The Love of Spam tells Sevilla’s personal story, of growing up in Gwam, living in the USA and moving to the UK, where her home comfort was … Spam. Spam has a warm place in her heart, of childhood and home life and of her origin, and a reminder of simpler times. She reminisces fondly on her past, with slightly darker jokes regarding wishing for natural disasters because it meant no electricity and therefore a dinner of spam. But there is sadness and there is negativity, from other cultures where they turn their nose down at the canned meat throughout her life, in a way, hurting not just the spam, but her.

As we continue, we are driven into a much more political conversation, highlighting elements between Gwam and the USA, which I, embarrassingly, had no idea about. From a bouncing, bubbly and jokey performance, it suddenly becomes dark and we are asked to reevaluate our lives and what is important. Sevilla does well to lull us, through dancing, high energy and puppetry to reach this point. This way, it becomes a unexpected plot twist – using imagey projected, she gut punches us with this realisation. Ending the show, we are in a contemplative position, through a nuclear countdown, as we are asked to question what we would do in our final moments. It is deep and sometimes a bit awkward, as Sevilla makes her favourite dish on stage.

While being brought into comfort to only be brought out of it worked really well, I do wonder whether this was a point for a more shocking ending; while the silence and contemplative finish was unique, it potentially petered a little. There was invitation to join on stage but this was signposted to only one and, while the essence was to bring us intimately in, it felt slightly selective and voyeuristic. I do wonder whether there was a point where we could have all joined and been more a part of these final moments.

For The Love Of Spam was an unexpected and interesting production; intimate and funny, the political and social commentary was equally alive and proved educational as well as entertaining.

(4 / 5)

We sadly live in a world where, the discourse of weight, body acceptance, body shaming and everything above and in between, is slowly getting better. Yet, there is always the other side of the coin, diet culture, a sense that to be able to be sporty or fit or active, you must be a certain weight or have a certain look and this is also on the rise.

I first saw Katie Greenall a few years back at the once fantastic Vault Festival. What I found appealing about her and her art is that she wasn’t afraid to be metaphorically bare on stage, to be bold, and be open, on a topic and in a space where there could be criticism and the potential to have her vulnerability challenged.

There is nothing different between that show and BLUBBER in that approach. She is open, honest, and direct with us. She notes she didn’t want to make another play about her body, and yet it becomes what drove her creation. BLUBBER originally meant to look at a plus size group of synchronised swimmers that inspired Greenall to take up the sport but, while it starts this way, she takes us through the journey she had in making the production, where it makes her reflect on her own body and her relationship with it.

Water is a huge theme – her sense of ease within it, how it removes physical pressures and feeling, how it lifts her spirit and makes her feel at home. And so she uses this throughout, visually and also in an invitation to interact with her. It is beautiful, and calming and heart breaking all in one.

As someone who has struggled up and down in her weight herself, the very candid thoughts and feelings she has is hugely resonating. They are things you think and never say out loud or divulge to anyone else. And so for her to tell, essentially, a group of strangers brings a very special element to this production; a space to emote and feel and be real and ultimately, be intimate with her.

Greenall refers to her body often as another entity and this separation feels not only as a coping mechanism she has created but another figure in the production; one that is scolded and hated but wants to love and be loved. Using physical theatre and movement, she attempts to combine the two characters and it is moving and heart wrenching all in one. The production has its moments of comedy, but it mostly has a calm feeling, such like water, and a sense of talking with a friend. It doesn’t need any grand crescendos or surprises to take us on a journey and tug at our emotions.

BLUBBER is a fantastic piece of theatre, addressing body culture from a personal viewpoint. It most importantly doesn’t have the approach of acceptance and putting a finger up to society, but the reality of the actual struggles and pain that is felt in bodies, which is relatable, beautiful and deeply resonating.