This Is You
Smock Alley Theatre
★★★☆☆
Struggling with a string of rejections and a lack of purpose, a young actor enters into a risky situation when she is hired by a wealthy middle aged man to play the role of his long estranged daughter in this unsettling new play.
The Smock Alley Theatre Boys’ School is dimly lit, the stage almost bare and the music conveys an instant sense of something menacing.
Live theatre is blended with projections of film in this drama by the recently formed Cork theatre company Loom. Promising new actors portray a coercive relationship, wrought with dangerous power dynamics.
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Feelings of self doubt and insecurity lead Alice to taking on this new acting assignment in which she’s tasked with relieving a father of guilt for his failed relationship.
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By embodying his daughter Melissa, the aim is for the familial relationship to be repaired, with a plan for it to later be severed on good terms. But things don’t quite go as planned and as the strange man attempts to control her, at first in subtle ways, soon even short interactions become tense and disturbing as they unfold on stage.
Though quite haunting, This Is You is not without its moments of humorous reprieve and witty dialogue.
The premise of this experimental show is intriguing and holds great potential but, ultimately, leaves some essential questions unanswered.
Continues at Smock Alley Theatre, as part of Dublin Fringe Festival, until 17th September
