Tag Archives: Camden People’s Theatre

I Want You To Admire Me/But You Shouldn’t – 4 Stars

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Admire

I Want You To Admire Me/But You Shouldn’t

Camden People’s Theatre

Reviewed – 8th March 2018

★★★★

“a multi-layered, intelligently devised study of human nature”

 

Presented by Dirty Rascals Theatre Company, ‘I Want You To Admire Me (But You Shouldn’t)’ is a multi-layered, intelligently devised study of human nature. Through the façade of a new reality TV show, Pavlos Christodoulou and his small troupe of contestants set out to examine humanity’s obsession with praise and shame.

Upon arrival, each audience member is given a voting card with which they are given the power to choose winners and losers, and take sides on both moral and personal issues. Rounds encourage the three contestants – Harold, Emily and Hannah – to think of the best and worst possible scenarios in a given topic and up the stakes for the next person. The topics are initially light-hearted and allow the company to provide a great number of laughs, but as the game carries on, the examination of the darker side of the obsession we all have with being adored begins to come through. Soon, the focus shifts to the speed at which we so easily set about shaming and humiliating other people. With an all too recognisable parallel drawn between this fictional game show and so many of our existing reality television shows, it’s hard not to be moved by the tirade of abuse the contestants must withstand to “earn” our admiration.

The most affecting point the show makes is that nothing works. Whether it’s the host’s unwavering, boundless energy and multitude of compliments to the audience or the contestants’ neediness in fulfilling their demands; I did not feel any genuine investment in any candidate coming through as the winner. I did not admire any of them, and perhaps this is the point. Perhaps the point the Rascals have made is that there is no dictionary definition for an icon. The whole show is underlined by pitch perfect music from David Denyer on the piano; and clever movement sequences symbolising the damaging psychological effects of the shame/admiration dichotomy regularly interject the gameshow. These are hard to watch and culminate in a somewhat predictable finale involving feathers and fake blood, but they are very well executed by the performers.

In short, this piece leaves you feeling like the bad guy, but also reminds you how close we are as a society to truly damaging our people if the shame we insist on placing on each other doesn’t stop. It’ll undoubtedly stick with me for a long time to come, and the Dirty Rascals should be proud of the questions they’re asking. You could even say I admire them for it.

 

Reviewed by Sydney Austin

Photography by Jeremy Wong

 


I Want You To Admire Me/But You Shouldn’t

Camden People’s Theatre

 

 

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Review of Man Up! – 4 Stars

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Man

Man Up!

Camden People’s Theatre

Reviewed – 19th September 2017

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

 

“a dazzling two-hander”


Man Up! is a dazzling two-hander, deconstructing what it means to be a woman/man/person in the 21st century. Literally stripping the layers of mythology surrounding the terms of gender, Man Up! provides a unique insight into the deconstruction and reconstruction of self through a mixture of discourses: anecdote, stereotype, popular culture and literature. Gliding through the spectrum of gender, Man Up! explores the fluidity of our gendered selves in an entertaining and relatable story of self.

Man-Up follows the story of Milly and Alex, exploring and discussing their lifetime experiences of gender. Both characters begin in clearly defined gendered roles, a femme beauty queen and a masc gamer guy; two highly gendered ‘selves’ divided and isolated from their culturally opposite ‘other’. But as the piece continues, the lines become blurred between feminine and masculine, as they deconstruct the stereotypes that haunt gender by demonstrating the fluidity inherent within it. Swapping sides, the centre-stage line is stripped away, revealing a common humanity and fluidity at the centre of the piece.

The stage begins as two clearly defined stations of masculinity and femininity, but as the characters begin to transform, the space follows, finally transitioning semiotically from a binary division of masculinity and femininity, to a more fluid and amorphous space, demonstrating the wider spectrum of gender. The narrative is accompanied by a series of sketches, cleverly created through use of props and costume; this intelligent physicality is crucial to the piece, breaking up the language-driven narrative with a more visceral demonstration of the story.

The performances give a sense of a verbatim realism, existing somewhere between truth and fiction, the expressiveness and humanity of the performances demands our attention and our empathy. The transformations between femininity and masculinity are incredible to watch, constructed on-stage throughout the piece, truly highlighting the performativity of gender. Man-Up! is hilariously funny and heartbreakingly relevant, it tackles issues that continue to haunt our social and cultural structures in a manner that feels inclusive and understanding of a wider modern audience.

 

Reviewed by Tasmine Airey

 

MAN UP!

was at Camden People’s Theatre as part of the

Come As You Are Festival

 

 

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