At the very beginning of the show, we thought that the show was going to fall in to the ‘it’s arty, but we don’t really understand what’s going on. Do you?’ bracket. Rolling around the stage with their heads pressed together and rubbing their hair and heads together, smoking thin cigarettes whilst staring in to the distance and lots of strange little moments made us look on, a bit stumped, but little should we judge so quickly, for the brilliance of this show soon unravelled itself.
Physical theatre duo RashDash are Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalen, two immensely talented women and fine actresses, who we had the pleasure of witnessing live on stage at the Soho Theatre.
They play Dee and Bea, who are best friends, who love each other, but what kind of love is it? Is it a friendly love, or is it something deeper? Could they really live happily ever after, or do they need something else – a man? Bea is in a relationship with a man and Dee thinks that they should be together instead and encourages Bea to leave him, pointing out all his flaws in gloriously funny fashion and pointing to all her positives attributes instead.
(Goalen) Bea and (Greenland) Dee are gloriously carefree and full of confidence throughout the performance. They bounce off one another in superb fashion and we haven’t seen such energy in a show in a long while, they didn’t stop from the moment the show opened, until it finished, covered in sweat and panting with breath after rolling, running and cavorting around the stage. There are no inhibitions here and watching them performing is very liberating. The funny moments are magnified by their acting ability. Moments where you think you should not be watching where a couple have arguments are very funny to watch, particularly given the tiny theatre setting and that you are just one foot away from the characters.
There are many smart questions thrown out and pondered throughout the show. Being in a monogamous relationship has many pluses, equally – being single and having the freedom to do as you please also has many pluses. Trying to find out what’s best and exploring those options are magnified throughout the show. Things almost reach boiling point when Dee finds out that Bea’s man has proposed to her. The storyline is full of drama, passion, funny one liners and arty musings. Oh, I Can’t Be Bothered mixes up dance ability, agility, striking images and funny word play. We haven’t seen a show like it in a long while and we love its originality.
Images credit: Richard Davenport.
