Tag Archives: Soho Theatre

Hungry

Hungry

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Soho Theatre

Hungry

Hungry

Soho Theatre

Reviewed – 13th July 2022

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“sometimes funny, but mostly heart-breaking, and brilliantly told”

 

It seems mad that something so silly as lunch can be so heated and rich in discussion, but it is. Somehow it draws in everything else that’s important: Family, culture, politics, self-worth. Everything can be got at by discussing what you just ate, be it a chicken nugget or an oyster. And in the case of Hungry, it’s both a chicken nugget and an oyster.

Lori, a highly strung chef, hires Bex as a waiter, and from their first day, there’s a pull between them. Both could talk for England, and both are bold and vivacious. But Lori shows her love by wanting to show Bex what she’s missing; all the finer things, β€œChicken nuggets are not special, your life is not special. But it should be.” And whilst Bex knows there’s something wrong about this, she struggles to name it, particularly when Lori is so impassioned and enthusiastic.

This is not a story about goodies versus baddies. It’s about the good intentions of a white woman being misguided and patronising; a clash of heritage- both class and race. And, as a white audience member, that makes it both very uncomfortable to watch and very necessary. Because it’s uncomfortable when someone looks you in the eye, and gently but firmly tells you you’re wrong.

Writer Chris Bush has a way of writing dialogue that is simultaneously vernacular and rhapsodic, incorporating the personal with the political, so you never feel the characters are simply mouthpieces for a more important message. The first few scenes feel a bit manic, but the energetic characters can account for that, plus it’s a lot to fit in to 70 minutes, and presumably Bush wanted to get a wiggle on.

Two metal trolley tables act as pretty much the whole set. Slamming together at the beginning of a scene, or moving gently apart, they serve as worktop, kitchen table, bedframe, battleground. With two such strong characters, there’s really no need for much else, and the simplicity of Lydia Denno’s design means that, for example, when Bex starts stamping on crisp packets and throwing crisps around like confetti, it’s all the more affecting.

Melissa Lowe and Eleanor Sutton are electric together, matched in spirit and quality of performance. Their timing is immaculate, interrupting and withholding in exquisite tandem. Both roles are difficult in their own ways: Lowe’s Bex is mouthy and quick-witted, but she’s on the back foot in this relationship, which seems a strange amalgam in theory, but makes perfect sense in this performance. Similarly, Sutton’s Lori is nervous and neurotic, but she holds the power. Her arguments are thoughtful and persuasive, and yet deeply problematic- a difficult balance to pull off without seeming disingenuous.

This isn’t really about food, but food is the perfect vehicle for its message, because it is both universal, and personal; unifying and segregating. In short, it’s complicated and important, as is the story of Hungry, sometimes funny, but mostly heart-breaking, and brilliantly told.

 

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by The Other Richard

 


Hungry

Soho Theatre until 30th July ahead of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 3rd-28th August

 

 

Recently reviewed at this venue:
An Evening Without Kate Bush | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | February 2022
Y’Mam | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | May 2022

 

Click here to see our most recent reviews

 

Y'Man

Y’Mam

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Soho Theatre

Y'Mam

Y’MAM

Soho Theatre

Reviewed – 26th May 2022

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“an astonishing performance, funny and vulnerable, hard-hitting and eloquent”

 

Y’MAM (an acronym for Young Man’s Angry Movements) is in good company, another in a spate of plays about toxic masculinity and its effects on men’s mental health, among them the five-star-reviewed For Black Boys… Of course, it’s no surprise that there is so much recent discussion on the subject, given its relevance and societal urgency. But how is Y’MAM supposed to stand out from the crowd?

Writer and performer Luke Jerdy chooses humour. But it’s not just that he’s funny, rather he finds and forces humour even in the darkest moments. Sure, we’re laughing at his impression of his giddy therapist, but we’re still laughing when he’s lighting his 13-year-old classmate’s hair on fire; when, having knocked someone out cold, Jerdy’s run away from the scene, leaving a friend to take the blame. We know it’s not funny, but we’re experiencing it via his own coping mechanisms of minimising and diverting, making it impossible to stare po-faced and earnestly at the problem.

The story keeps a pace with a largely rhyming spoken-word delivery, and if it’s all about to get a bit too self-reflective, Jerdy jumps in with a song and a rap. It’s a tricky balancing act, because ultimately you don’t want to go so far into light entertainment that the point of the story is lost. But it’s this very fine balance that makes it such an effective story-telling tool. The grim details are all there for us to see, we’re just ingesting them via jokes and songs, uncomfortable as the juxtaposition sometimes is.

Projected photos and clipart-style videos are effective in keeping the audience’s eye roving just enough that Jerdy doesn’t have to take the entire 80-minute hit. They’re a bit basic, and at some points unnecessary, but they hardly take away from the power of the piece.

Wearing a light-coloured tracksuit, you can literally see how hard Jerdy is working on that stage from the sweat pouring through; running laps around the stage, jumping like a gorilla, rapping and dancing and playing every character he encounters with equal verve throughout. It’s an astonishing performance, funny and vulnerable, hard-hitting and eloquent. An excellent addition to the conversation, and, hopefully, a very liberating and cathartic story for some.

 

 

Reviewed by Soho Theatre

Photography by Brian Roberts

 

Y’MAM

Soho Theatre until 4th June

 

Show mentioned in review:
For Black Boys … | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Royal Court Theatre | April 2022

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
An Evening Without Kate Bush | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | February 2022

 

Click here to see our most recent reviews