The Cockpit Theatre hosted the world premiere of this new comedy reflecting upon the harshness of our everyday through gleam, colour and a bit of acetone. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on this surreal tale taking place amidst the chaos of a beauty salon, to let us know if their services deserved a complaining form .
Who thought that a beauty session could make us see the ugly truth of life? Well… with a little help from our lovely friend alcohol too – and we’re not talking about the one to remove the colour… Londoners are c*nts! Says the leading lady – not me (I only think that about Clapham guys). But she’s about to discover how much of a b*tch she actually is. And how, like perhaps many of us (or even everyone) project on others the flaws that we don’t want to recognize in ourselves.
There’s no question that Tipsy has conceived from a more than interesting idea. Create something philosophical through an absurd setting and intended slapstick, sophomoric comedy is actually the right approach to make a piece both deep and appealing. But sadly there’s not much more than its premise to applaud in this whole production, which has stayed as practically just a bunch of intentions that fail to materialize – let alone develop.
Written by Edie Walwyn, the dialogue (and pretty much the plot itself) seem to be incomplete – usually incapable of providing us with a full story arc and, almost constantly, giving the impression that is not really going anywhere. The same problem also affects the whole structure of the plot, which to some extent, appears to be inexistent. We see arriving to London, facing the harsh reality of the big city, and getting to the salon only for the play to remain still for the rest of the performance – as we’re not offered much more than a few scattered comments on unconnected topics, all of them explored from a very shallow perspective.
Directed by Zara Walvyn (who also stars in the leading role of Maria), the other big issue stems from the show’s staging, as the blocking is confusing and doesn’t achieve to translate the narration from the page to under the spotlight. On the other hand, the conversations lack naturality as for the way the lines are delivered, featuring too many pauses that make them sound unconvincing, and most importantly, prompting a lack of interest. This unfortunately results in a too slow rhythm, constantly giving us the sensation that we are not making any progress with the journey we’re supposed to be going through.
Tipsy holds the merit of bringing so much new and young talent onboard, a more than laudable accomplishment, but it still needs to undergo a major revision to match the morals of its acts to the value of its art. Find what their characters are in search for, discover their conflicts and true struggles, and, above all, decide on what’s the story that they are actually trying to tell. Once it gets fixed, it may become something so intoxicating that instead of tipsy, we may get drunk on.
All pictures credit to Phoebe Wingrove.
Tipsy concluded its run at London’s Cockpit Theatre on 17 June.