Skip to main content

Review of UoN Fringe 2019: Welcome To My World by The Realistic Theatre Company at The Platform Club, Northampton

For my second show of the 2019 University of Northampton Fringe Festival, it was a head-first dive into mental health (and this was not going to be the only show exploring themes on this during Fringe), and Amy DaCosta's Welcome to my World from her company The Realistic Theatre Company.

This particular take on mental health was exploring Dissociative Identity Disorder, which was not one I was aware of going into the show. However, over thirty minutes, DeCosta went some way in helping a little to understand this, it is as it turns out multiple personality disorder, and here DaCosta explores a woman that has several hidden people while embracing as much as possible her real one of Zsofia.

Welcome to my World is at times, and maybe deliberately so, a little confusing. As the characters become dominant, while DaCosta's characterisation is very different, the stories they tell can take some following, and indeed a discussion after was the only way to get a grip on certain aspects of it. However, perhaps that is very much the point, not only to generate talk, but also to confuse and make the audience member a little insecure about events, like the character herself.

DaCosta, however, is a strong performer, clear in delivery, and some nice vocal and visual tones to create the different personalities and to tell the tale, in a storytelling form, a method I am a great fan of, and here, she exhibits a great future potential to move into this field if desired.

Staging is simple but also features some excellent use of a table to create various objects and locations. Tech is nicely handled, including some great use of pre-recorded audio, which is accurately performed within by DaCosta.

Welcome to my World is difficult to watch, it should be I guess, and the life of Zsofia is a tough one, and here with the show, there are unfortunately no happy endings. However, life doesn't always provide that, so, perhaps theatre shouldn't always either, and that maybe makes this show stronger for not providing one and leaving us thinking of the issues raised all the more.

Performance viewed: Monday 29th April 2019

The Fringe Festival 2019 runs until Sunday 5th May 2019 at The Platform Club Northampton, and one show at Hazelrigg House.

Details here: Fringe Festival 2019
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Frankenstein at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Over 200 years since its first publication it is remarkable to think that what is, in essence, a scientific novel such as Frankenstein is still so relevant in content today. However, as science evolves endlessly, and now with AI becoming so dominant and controversial, the difference between right and wrong, good and evil in science, and what is too inhuman is as current as ever. Tilted Wig's production, now at the end of its UK tour at Royal & Derngate and written and directed by Sean Aydon takes the original story and sets it about halfway between the first publication and modern day, around the time leading up to the Second World War. Aydon's adaptation works really well in placing the story within this degenerating world, a place where true horror is around the corner, and veiled ideas of their (Germany's) interest in Frankenstein's work are gently developed. However, while Aydon clearly had this idea in his head and his pen when scripting this version, the polit
Read more

Review of Hacktivists by Ben Ockrent performed by R&D Youth Theatre at Royal & Derngate (Underground), Northampton

The National Theatres Connections series of plays had been one of my highlights of my trips to R&D during 2014. Their short and snappy single act style kept them all interesting and never overstaying their welcome. So I was more than ready for my first encounter with one of this years Connections plays ahead of the main week of performances at R&D later in the year. Hacktivists is written by Ben Ockrent, whose slightly wacky but socially relevant play Breeders I had seen at St James Theatre last year. Hacktivists is less surreal, but does have a fair selection of what some people would call odd. Myself of the other hand would very much be home with them. So we are presented with thirteen nerdy "friends" who meet to hack, very much in what is termed the white hat variety. This being for good, as we join them they appear to have done very little more than hacked and created some LED light device. Crashing in to spoil the party however comes Beth (Emma-Ann Cranston)
Read more

Review of Flashdance - The Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes

For the second week running, the Milton Keynes Theatre is overrun by a wave of eighties nostalgia as Selladoor's production of Flashdance The Musical follows hot on the heels of An Officer and a Gentlemen. However, is it nice to have more of that classic decade upon the stage? The answer mostly is yes, despite the fact that the story driving Flashdance is that light and flimsy at times, you just have to sit back and watch the dancing and the bright colours to get you through. Welding genius, Alex Owens, has her sights set for a bigger thing beyond this tired and struggling factory in Pittsburgh.  Hoping to take her dancing beyond Harry's bar, she plans to make big, via Shipley Dance Academy.  Then, also drifting into her life comes Nick Hurley, who initially unknown to her, happens to be the factory bosses son, the scene is set for romance. Flashdance has a generally excellent cast led with a tremendously good performance from Joanne Clifton as Alex Owens. Those famili
Read more