Described as a present about what occurs when a 40 12 months previous mum finds herself approaching midlife, Degenerate promised a heady mixture of vampires and menopause alongside rise up comedy and viewers participation. Well, signal me up! And it was within the beautiful Etcetera Theatre above the Oxford Arms pub in Camden. I repeat: a pub. Another purpose to go. Sadly this present is confused, and while I’ve no subject with merging conventional theatre types with rise up, it does want some sort of construction. Labelled as Work In Progress, that is its third outing, having performed at…
Rating
Ok
Some flashes of brilliance punctuate this in any other case confused rise up present which makes an attempt to discover the misplaced years of center age the place ladies can turn into invisible or chunk again.
Described as a present about what occurs when a 40 12 months previous mum finds herself approaching midlife, Degenerate promised a heady mixture of vampires and menopause alongside rise up comedy and viewers participation. Well, signal me up! And it was within the beautiful Etcetera Theatre above the Oxford Arms pub in Camden. I repeat: a pub. Another purpose to go.
Sadly this present is confused, and while I’ve no subject with merging conventional theatre types with rise up, it does want some sort of construction. Labelled as Work In Progress, that is its third outing, having performed on the Camden Fringe in August after which the Clapham Fringe in October. It’s not model new. Possibly the WIP within the title really refers back to the nature of life itself, however no matter.
At the start our character Maria comes on stage and descriptions what’s going to occur, while being clear this isn’t the present correct. She repeatedly refers to a set of notes on a close-by desk and interacts with the viewers. She then tries to get out of the studio to purchase some drinks for viewers members however after all the door is locked and we’re caught for the length and the lights begin to flicker. Well, we predict vampires aren’t we?! Some of this labored: she’s gifted and engages simply with the viewers. She’s additionally humorous, with nice timing. However, this part went on far too lengthy and joke was overworked. It additionally created confusion, definitely for myself and my companion. Was this a part of a scripted efficiency? Or a real impromptu response? Neither made sense. And but the idea itself had plenty of potential: vampires and menopause?! So a lot alternative for blood-related comedy or incisive remark was left undeveloped.
The remainder of the efficiency plodded via rise up classes, which Maria recounted to the viewers one after the other: observational comedy, anecdotal, insult, improv and so forth. It was utterly pointless and a disgrace. Maria is genuinely gifted and is able to taking the viewers along with her with out the efficiency equal of subtitles.
The lighting is intelligent: blackouts are properly timed and definitely the one on the finish pre-empted a genuinely shocking reveal, which structurally introduced us again to the start of the piece. It was a neat and intelligent trajectory. So why obfuscate the motion with all of the fake ‘I’m making it up as I’m going alongside’ then?! Have confidence in your writing talents girl! There was additionally a second when she sang, and boy, can that girl sing. Powerful and emotional, it was a beautiful, visceral shock.
In phrases of plot, what I struggled with was the concept that 40 is such a significant milestone to be overcome. Technically the typical age of a lady experiencing menopause is 51 (don’t ask me how I do know that) however by placing a label on THE birthday to be feared you run the chance of alienating a few of the viewers who would possibly really feel that 40 is absolutely fairly younger. Would it have been higher to depart the precise quantity out of it and simply use the car of feminine center age invisibility because the construction?
This has been given a two star ranking due to the dearth of perception or readability in what this present is making an attempt to attain, however that basically doesn’t replicate the standard of the efficiency by the actor herself. And that’s really disappointing. Decide what you need to do with this present and provides it a superb edit. Then showcase Maria as a result of she’s value it.
Written, directed and produced by: This is Not A Test Theatre
Degenerate performed at Etcetera Theatre as a part of thei Black Box Festival.