It All
Soho Theatre
Reviewed – 12th August 2019
★★★
“Cook is a confident, competent and compelling performer”
A stern and solemn musician (Patrick Bell) sits on stage waiting for it all to begin. Keyboard, guitar, and violin form a wall around him; a triangle dangles in front. The musician won’t smile once for the whole hour, nor will he speak. Like the audience, he’s waiting for the main event. Cameron Cook gracefully glides into the light. ‘It All’, a dreamlike journey tackling life, death, love and capitalism, begins.
It’s a tricksy show to sum up. Cook, whose black lipstick, white vest, black trousers and braces are reminiscence of a clowning street-performer, speaks a finely penned poem delving into life’s bigger mysteries. Like a young Jim Carrey, he is constantly interrupted by new characters, scenarios, blink-and-you-miss-it moments that possess his body and cause absurd and hilarious physical and vocal changes. A father and son talk about the meaning of life. An old Southern American man warns there’s a “storm a-comin’”. A slick businessman descends into Gollum-like madness. By the end, it’s only the performer who remains, demanding a curtain call and pontificating on what ‘it all’ could mean.
I must admit, the rest of the audience seemed to enjoy this performance much more than I did. Cook is a confident, competent and compelling performer. He switches between characters and situations with absolute ease, and his physical contortions are astounding. Watching him perform is like switching between radio stations, each moment completely different, drawing you into weird and wonderful worlds for all-too-brief moments. However, the lack of cohesive structure is a gnawing issue, the final message is not quite clear.
If there is a message. Ever aware of being a performer on stage in front of an audience, Cook’s show might just be a showcase for his talents and an evening of clownish cabaret entertainment. This audience was certainly hooked throughout. For me, the transformations became a little too repetitive. With no completely coherent connection between them, the array of characters wasn’t varied enough in tone, nor funny enough to be thoroughly enjoyable.
Despite that, there are, of course, moments of pure joy. The relationship between performer and musician is smart and humorous, and Cook’s capitalist Gollum was a personal highlight. Bell plays his instruments with commitment and gusto, making his triangle playing especially watchable. The lighting is stark and bright – a simple set up but ideal for a show where the focus is on performance.
Mildly enjoyable for some, a masterpiece for others, this show is certainly not for everyone. If clowning and mid-nineties Jim Carrey is your bag, you’ll be up on your feet at the end. For me, the show needs a slightly more coherent through-line to move beyond just being a showcase of acting talent. Cook and Bell are a delight though – and it is Cook’s boundless energy and optimism that makes the hour-long running time whizz by.
Reviewed by Joseph Prestwich
Photography by Michael Hani
It All
Soho Theatre until 12th August
Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Soft Animals | ★★★★ | February 2019
Angry Alan | ★★★★ | March 2019
Mouthpiece | ★★★ | April 2019
Tumulus | ★★★★ | April 2019
William Andrews: Willy | ★★★★★ | April 2019
Does My Bomb Look Big In This? | ★★★★ | May 2019
Hotter | ★★★★★ | May 2019
Citysong | ★★★★ | June 2019
The View Upstairs | ★★★ | July 2019
The Starship Osiris | ★★★★★ | August 2019
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