(5 / 5)

What do you get when you cross a budding relationship with climate change? You get Omelette.

Written by Anna Spearpoint, Omelette sees the meeting of Mo and Mia, as they embark on not only fixing the planet but on their developing relationship. The pair start by attending protests and quickly begin to make more and more changes to their lifestyles, together, to continue the good, all the while falling in love and falling out of love. Over a small period of time, the constraints of their lifestyle and the fast pace that their relationship has developed, all becomes sour until they realise how much an impact only one small change can do.

Set in the round, the actor’s begin quite far apart, slowly closing the distance and contact as their relationship blossoms, to eventually inhabiting the circular sheet in front of them. Representing the World (and possibly also an omelette) this circle is where it all happens – the dead centre of this play. For them, this is the centre of their World.

There are no curtains, very clever and quick scenes changes, making this seem a long period of time until we realise it is only a matter of days, weeks, months. The chemistry between the two performers is electric; it is both adorable and awkward, a period in new love that we can all relate to. They are almost an oxymoron – effortlessly and perfectly awkward.

At the beginning, the conversation is quick in pace and wit, and it is a wonder where they have time to get a breath but we realise this is a clever technique; reflecting their relationship stages, they become quieter, more silent and slower when they become angrier, less fond of one another and less in love.

Absolutely chocked full of comedy, Spearpoint’s play cleverly makes us think about climate change all the while making tears of laughter stream down our faces, all culminating in the realisation that all the drastic changes they have made haven’t made the World brand new but only made them miserable; when suddenly they figure out that even a small change is big in the long run, the whole narrative feels ironic and in itself is comical.

Omelette not only makes a political point but is full of fun, comedy, great writing and just as great acting. A real masterpiece.

(4 / 5)

Take a hint of the 90’s. A dash of the noughties. And add the questions we all asked as young people. And you get The Paper Birds, Ask Me Anything.

Based upon verbatim questions and the performers younger selves, Ask Me Anything is a performance about what it is like to grow up and how hard life can be.

With a casual outlook to the performance, we are greeted by three women each showcasing what their childhood bedrooms looked like. We are given trust to join them on a personal level, with plenty of audience interaction and almost like a chin wag with a couple of mates, just with a hint of the theatrics. Taking questions from young people of today, they try to tackle questions many generations have asked: What is it like to have sex? Will I ever know what I want to do with my life? And then harder ones, that as three white women, they out-rightly outsourced to others better qualified to answer such as sexuality, race and mental health. The latter I felt was a great push in the right direction of theatre, ensuring that the majority of this country do not answer everything and instead tap into minorities, and bring them and the problems they can face to the forefront. Giving them the platform that they so rightly should have.

We feel safe and at ease, lulled into security until things get hard. I did feel that this could have been brought on sooner, feeling comfortable in a relative amount of time. It then felt a little long until we are hit with trauma. But when the trauma comes, it is heartbreaking and in your face; verbatim videos screening in a cannon on several screens and dramatic silence in its finale. Lulling us to then break the atmosphere, making a real point about mental health and hardships is a brilliant technique that The Paper Birds used well.

My favourite part of the production was that they were not just theatrical performers, but a 3 piece girl rock group. Interluding the action, brand new music written about and for the show are played, filling the room with an essence of girl power and for rock lovers like me, new favourites. I would happily see these women play a gig on its own if I could.

Ask Me Anything is poignant, comical and a musical masterpiece. A theatrical therapy for young people these days and a comfort for those still struggling with life.

(4 / 5)

Coined as Horror Comedy, What the Dolls Saw from House of Macabre is just that – full of twists, turns, comedy and crazy characters, this is 1 hour of a real treat for theatrical minds.

With an all female cast, the story sees the tale of a family of women on the wake of their late patriarch – the father of three girls, an adopted grand daughter and the wife left behind. All with their unique style, character and personality, this family holds a deep and dark past, not investigated, and yet now seems like the right time to do so.

With their father as a late famous doll maker and their mother a dramatic retired actress, it’s no wonder that this story verges on the comical and flamboyant but yet eerie and spooky.

The characters are well developed: we love and hate the mother who is mad as a hatter, glamorous and blunt which causes plenty of comedy; the daughters are lovable, fun and we believe their loving sisterly relationship implicitly and the granddaughter, who is mute, does well to convey amazement at this dysfunctional family.

With the bumps in the night, use of atmospheric music and lights not only from the set but use of torches (well known in spooky stories), we are often on edge and unable to see the twists in the story.

What The Dolls Saw is nothing but an enjoyable experience. As one who is a total wimp when it comes to horror, there is enough to keep my heart beating and make me jump but not so much that I have to run for the door. And when i’m not gripping onto my seat, I am laughing and smiling at every moment.

(3 / 5)

Have you ever felt entirely alone? Too loud for a room? Like you do not fit?

Gobby is a one woman play about self discovery, about changes in young adult life and finally being okay with who you are.

Set within the premise of 5 different parties, Bri (like the cheese but not because it is spelt differently) finds herself lost and alone in the aftermath of a destructive relationship. Her friends, that she ignored during this period, now don’t want to know her, and Bri struggles with this reality, and her own loneliness.

This narrative feels like something we can all relate to – bad relationships, loneliness, and a sense of not belonging. The play is written as an inner monolgue, occasionally breaking away with the use of props (balloons with party hats on top) or a mild change in stance and addition of a stereotyped accent to bring in other characters. The characters are funny at first, and the over the top expressions of them help differentiate the story line. It becomes more subtle when the story becomes more serious, which is a clever maneuver, keeping us engaged.

While staged as a retelling of Bri’s life, often Jodie Irvine (our only performer) addresses her feet when speaking to us. At times this is endearing and adds to the awkwardness of the character, but eventually we want to make eye contact with her more – evidently with her obvious skills as an actress, she has reason to be more confident in her performance and we desperately want her to bring this to the stage.

We also believe that much of the outbursts and way Bri feels is due to a past relationship. But little is explained about this and we come to a point where nothing will do but knowledge, for us to be able to connect to the character. The rest ranges from comical to climactic releases, and so despite the lack of story, we are surprised at every turn.

Gobby is a passionate play about liking oneself and discovering who you are after trauma. It’s about growing up but also growing into yourself and so becomes a real coming of age tale that many in their early 20’s need to see to know that it will be alright in the end. We just want Irvine to be more confident in her well devised production!