Happy Cannibals, a theatre company established by three Cambridge graduates looking to create theatre focused on the influence of the modern world on interpersonal relationships, recently performed Mewling and Puking, an evening of new writing, at the Hen & Chickens Theatre in Islington.
I was sent a recording of the plays to review by one of the writers, Rachel Kitts.
UnSure by Rachel Kitts.
Featuring Sarah McCurrach & Rachel Kitts
“Best friends Grace and Brooke decide to have a threesome with Brooke’s partner, Max. During the threesome, Grace and Brooke form an unexpected connection. Weeks later, Brooke and Grace meet at a party and navigate the complex feelings that have arisen since. UnSure is a play about queerness, honesty, and the commodification of female sexuality.”
Comments – this is a well-written piece for two actors with a definite sense of attraction and complexity, considering the norms that tie us into our relationship routines. It highlights the difficult conversations it is increasingly hard to have face to face, even when labels and identities in the 21st century are far more fluid. It is interesting that the play choses not to include Max as a character. I feel this does make the situation stronger and more intense. The need for love is palpable, and the friendship is very senstively written and portrayed.
UnAvailable by Jessica Murdoch
Featuring Jessica Murdoch, Benedict Clarke, Jonathan Wilson
“Jerry, finding herself in crisis, texts her boyfriend Peter asking for help. Peter leaves her on read, turning up unannounced a few hours later with mutual friend Sam, seemingly unaware of Jerry’s situation. ‘UnAvailable’ is a brutal exploration of the question of responsibility in a society which normalises ‘ghosting’, ignorance and apathy. To what extent can we rely on each other? And is something still considered ‘wrong’ if everyone is doing it?”
Comments – a play for three actors and an constant stream of (unseen) text and social media messages masks the real conversations we need to have with each other. I found this quite thought-provoking as we rely more and more on online discussions with people we don’t really know, memes and jokes, perhaps missing what is right in front of us. This balances humour with a serious message and does it very well. I also feel this play would stand up to an expansion to a 50/60 minute piece. There’s an awful lot to unpack in such a short time.
UnGodly by Maya Yousif
Featuring Ella Blackburn, Joe Tyler Todd, Sarah McCurrack
“A vicar goes viral after drunkenly crashing a year 6 disco in the parish hall. The next day, he’s going on local radio to confront the fallout of going viral and the reasons why he got so drunk in the first place.”
Comments – the priest has had a bad night, and social media has captured the fallout, showing even more mature people can be captured by the judgemental gaze of modern communication. in this case a TikTok video, a snapshot of a moiment of weakness. Moments that may have only been seen by a handful of people locally who never taked about it again. Not in the modern age when items on the internet are fairly permanent. There is humour in this premise (“the pickle of Christ”) but I felt it took its time to get anywhere. The vicar’s friend (Blackburn) is a great character, though.
***.5