★★★★★

“The clever dialogue is Pinteresque, full of ambiguity, uncertainty and with an unsettling sense of threat”

New York-based artists, Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland reprise their Edinburgh Fringe First Award-winning show from 2023 and from this first London performance, that win was well deserved. Because this show is simply sixty minutes of onstage perfection – sassy, snappy and sexy. Described as a “radical, queer dystopia”, the two dynamic co-writers and performers play two 1950’s American housewives, near neighbours in a suspicious American suburb where everyone is peeking through the curtains.

The neon colours of the simple set – blue wooden chairs around a central table and a salmon pink window frame set at a jaunty angle – shine out in the intimate black box theatre space (Lighting Designer, Angelo Sagnelli). Shirley (Natasha Roland) is scrubbing the black and white chequerboard flooring whilst a spaghetti lunch is cooking in the oven. There comes a knock on the door which Shirley is scared to open, but it is only Dotty (Xhloe Rice) from down the road who, ostensibly, has come to return a casserole dish. A power struggle ensues between the two on who gets to hold the dish. The two ladies are dressed in near identical frocks: Shirley in yellow, Dotty in pink – doll-like in appearance, red circles painted on their cheeks, a parody of the stereotypical post-war American housewife. Their conversation is a delightful exaggeration of the banalities of polite intercourse, the couple mirroring each other both in words and actions.

Then strange things begin to happen. We see the same repeated scene over and over, with subtle changes so that we mistrust what we understood was happening. The straight scenes are interpolated with pseudo-dance pieces, movement to music – electronica, techno and rap – out of period with the previous tone. Scenes first interpreted as Shirley’s lesbian fantasies appear to be something more significant after all and as the couple whisper to each other amidst the rave, it appears this is the only safe time for them to truly communicate.

The precise dance steps of the two actors in these scenes, perfect in their synchronicity, are a joy to watch and the pair provide a masterclass in mirroring.

The clever dialogue is Pinteresque, full of ambiguity, uncertainty and with an unsettling sense of threat. Why is Shirley so scared of repeated knocks on the door? What is making the footstep noises from upstairs? Just how much time does Dotty spend in Shirley’s house? What is the mystery of Mrs Nobokov across the road who may have been “taken in”? Each set of dialogue raises more questions until we are ultimately led (should have seen it coming…) to the final question that is the title of the play. Leaving the theatre, there are no obvious answers but much to think on about living in a surveillance society.

SISYPHEAN QUICK FIX 

Riverside Studios

★★★

“The performances by Paris and Tina Rizzo remain as strong throughout”

No one who is actually fine says ‘I’m fine’. A line we hear often in life, and more than once in Bettina Paris’ play “Sisyphean Quick Fix”. So, when London-based struggling actor, Krista, asks her sister how their father is – and she responds with a shoulder-shrugging ‘he’s fine’ – we know that’s not true. The sister, Pip (Tina Rizzo), still lives in Malta where they grew up. Krista left to pursue her dream, which is on the cusp of being attained although she is currently a penniless, stressed barmaid. The siblings have comparisons and contrasts. Pip is a career woman, dresses smartly and has the luxury of slowly chewing over a marriage proposal. Krista meanwhile is unlucky in love and life but unbound by expectations. What they do share, however, is a strong childhood bond. And an alcoholic father. The feelings of responsibility are equal, but what is contentious is each other’s share of the burden (especially as Krista lives far away). The play steers through the minefield of emotions as their father’s illness deteriorates.

Paris herself plays Krista and, apparently, the subject is based on real life experience. She has a natural onstage presence that puts us at ease. The opening scenes are light-hearted and full of expressive and witty dialogue that firmly establishes the sisters’ strong bond and affectionate rivalry. Nicky Allpress’ slick and intuitive direction creates two separate worlds that eventually converge into one. Initially, Oliver McNally’s lighting separates these worlds, bathing Pip’s Malta in a rusty glow while Krista’s London has the cold, hazy hues of the ‘Big Smoke’. A middle ground is found when Krista travels back to Malta.

Unfortunately, it is in the middle ground where the writing starts to get too comfortable. And the stakes don’t feel quite as high as they should. The performances by Paris and Tina Rizzo remain as strong throughout, but the offstage characters come to us second-hand without really coming to life. They wonderfully show us the effects their father has on their lives, yet the complexities of the causes remain underexplored, weakening the heart of the matter. The focus is still very much on Pip and Krista. And a wonderful, honest portrayal of their relationship it is. But although we get a sense of the sacrifices they make, we don’t feel the force of the circumstances that drive their decisions.

Ubiquitous questions surface: ‘could we have done more?’ or ‘we’re going to be okay?’ – the latter weighed down by its oversized question mark. Admittedly there are no definitive answers but in this play the questions seem a touch unearned. The title alludes to the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who was condemned to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down every time it neared the top – repeating the action for eternity. In contemporary culture, tasks that are considered laborious or futile are described as Sisyphean. “Sisyphean Quick Fix”, however, is quite the opposite. Played out in short, fractured scenes there is an effortlessness to the staging that deals with an important, pertinent and universal topic. Which paradoxically also creates the problem – we don’t fully grasp the real struggle. The finely crafted writing needs just a few more sharp edges for it to cut through beyond the skin.

WHAT IF THEY ATE THE BABY?

Soho Theatre

★★★★★

“The clever dialogue is Pinteresque, full of ambiguity, uncertainty and with an unsettling sense of threat”

WHAT IF THEY ATE THE BABY?

Soho Theatre

Reviewed on 19th March 2025

by Phillip Money

Photography by Morgan McDowell

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WHAT IF THEY ATE THE BABY?

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SISYPHEAN QUICK FIX

Riverside Studios

★★★

“The performances by Paris and Tina Rizzo remain as strong throughout”