EM The Master Productions Showtime! is a tough one.
Conceptually, it works, (an exploration of seeking fame at all costs) but there is so much effort that it feels desperate, which is an uncomfortable place to put your audience … which is, no doubt, deliberate. The tale is about extremes of emotion and extremes of effort and, so, it was unremitting and manic. A few moments of calm would have given the audience time to digest and would have counterbalanced the wrecking ball.
It is a small venue and yet the performer wears a mic. This may be an artistic choice, as it couldn’t possibly be necessary. Was it to suggest the trappings of performance? One needs the kit to be good? We jump from piano, ego and alter ego and sound bites of angst. Costumes go on and off, hair comes down and is put up. Change. Change. Change. Seeking for something that works, presumably.
I couldn’t see the action depicted on the floor from the second row (and there are only two rows) so some of the gymnastics and the nakedness were lost on me and it was frustrating to miss what was going on. The nakedness is not gratuitous – it tells the truth. Unlike the myriad of costumes and disguises, the human beneath is vulnerable and natural and beautiful in her own skin.
I genuinely liked her performance as the father and from there on I was invested. But until that point, I was somewhat disinterested, which is a pity.
Reviewer: Kathleen Mansfield
Reviewed: 15th August 2024
North West End UK Rating: