Earworm – Camden People’s Theatre
Earworm by Gur Arie Piepskovitz is pitched as an ‘anti-rom-com’ and certainly succeeds in presenting the contemporary queer relationship as a prospect of conflict, contradiction and angst. The story concerns alternative cabaret singer Guy (Avihud Tidhar), who is dating queer academic John (Brodie Bass). They are motivated by distinctly varying ambitions and have different needs in their relationship, which is obviously heading towards collapse.
In a bold, post-modern meta move, Earworm opens with Guy (Tidhar) directly addressing the audience, as he tries to select a song to open the show. Waylon Jacobs and Reece Lewis sit either side of Guy, acting as an arch, critical chorus, analysing the emotional manipulations of theatrical conventions. The pair savage Guy’s efforts in real time...