Feet

Etcetera Theatre

Reviewed – 23rd November 2017

★★★★

“generates a number of laughs whilst posing quite a few discussion points about the world we live in”

 

Often millennials are seen as living the life of revelry with few cares and responsibilities. However, aspiring actress Lucy Winwood is struggling with very real financial difficulties which leave her unable to pay her burgeoning bills. With the bank nagging and a lack of castings she decides to search the web for a get quick rich scheme and stumbles upon a foot fetish website. The temptation to make big money from murkier waters seems all too convenient. However when a client wants to meet her in the flesh Lucy questions whether ‘degrading’ herself in front of someone is a moral or ethical approach to embark on.

Written, produced and directed by duo Emma Brown and Lawrence Smith, Feet is a piece which generates a number of laughs whilst posing quite a few discussion points about the world we live in. Brown plays the distinctly likeable Lucy who like many others is concerned about the uncertainty of her future and graduate life. When snapping her feet, Lucy isn’t sexually wheedling but instead lets the photos do all the talking. To her it’s a way of earning money, certainly more than she gets working at the supermarket. Her partner Smith switches smoothly between characters as he shifts from controlling boyfriend Ben to various clients from all walks of life. The duo nail the tone perfectly. It’s an uplifting insight into someone progressing in a little-understood profession.

The cast engineer the moves between locations with spot-on lighting cues and music. This allows the audience to dip into different aspects of Lucy’s life with ease whilst keeping the focus on her. Recorded voice-overs are cleverly woven into the piece as a way of representing characters such as Lucy’s father, friend, phone messages and her inner thoughts. At times it almost feels like a sitcom. However, it’s when the play comes to a close that the plot strands collide and things stumble a little. The last five minutes lack tautness and the result is an abrupt ending with loose ends. As a whole I’m impressed with the places this piece ventures. From financial struggles, to graduate life, to the world of sex work, to the acceptance of nudity onstage, to revenge porn.

 

Reviewed by Chloe Cordell

 

 

FEET

was at The Etcetera Theatre

 

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com