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I keep a woman in my flat chained to a radiator ★★★★
Edinburgh Zoo (Venue 124)
Until Sunday 29th August 2016
It’s
difficult to see anything funny about abuse, but Theatre, Apparently do manage to tickle the audience with their
witty new show I Keep a Woman in my Flat Chained to a Radiator. The
title intrigues doesn’t it. Evidentially provocative, bordering between
horrific and absurd, much of the audience were probably sitting in that theatre
because they were curious to see what such a title could ensue. I certainly
was.
Writer Adam Willis has created two unlikely friends. It feels odd calling a
kidnapper and his victim so but Stephen (Alex Wells-King) and the woman (Monica
Forero) chained to his radiator do have chemistry, banter and some kind of
friendship. This is evident as he relies on her for advice and prep for his
upcoming date that night – the date that she apparently set up for him online.
You would assume she did this to bring someone to the flat that could help her,
but no, her captivity in this flat is never explained or mused on that much.
Instead, while cooking dinner and shaping up the flat, captor and captive
bicker and discuss other big topics such as feminism, racism and sex appeal, as
if two mates at a pub. This dark image does end up being rather funny as the
pair’s ‘friendship’ is very well performed, and their delivery is slick and
well timed.
But what was
clever was how they removed this relationship from reality by never
acknowledging the very unconventional set. Blankets and pillows are pulled off
what you assumed was the bed, to reveal cardboard boxes that are then used to
make the dinner table, which like the kidnap victim, isn’t addressed. The
‘wardrobe’ and ‘chest of draws’ are cardboard boxes as well. What could be
mistaken as a lack of funds and props, was actually to me a clever signifier
that this world is on the edge of reality.
Indeed, this
bizarre feature matched their relationship. I mean watching a woman chained to
a radiator nag her captor about what shirt to wear for his date was almost too
absurd to be taken seriously. It is only upon reflection that I realise how
effective this ultra-strangeness was, as moments of real truth and poignancy
stood out with extra force. Because of their friendly chatter you soon forget
the abuse that is in front of your eyes. But small yet raw references to sexual
assault as well as moments where Stephen’s controlling and possessive
personality slips through, crash the audience back down to reality. These
moments were handled wonderfully, and make the play so much more than just a
dark comedy; they reframe the whole image as a surreal portrayal of abusive
relationships.
This
conclusion didn’t immediately hit me when watching the show. I mean there were
uncomfortable distractions (believe it or not, other distractions aside from a
woman being detained). The script played with political correctness throughout,
joking about the politics of using racial slurs and the many debates of
feminism. I don’t mind exploring these issues and even laughing at the
occasional embarrassments they can accidentally cause for people. But I did
struggle with knowing what they wanted us to laugh at. Did they want us to
laugh at people’s ignorance, or at political correctness itself? The sense that
it might have been the latter made me uncomfortable, as I couldn’t quite see to
what end it was. Perhaps a little more development was needed in regard to what
the purpose of these jokes was.
Yet despite
this small discomfort, the play had quite a bit of genius to it. I’ll admit,
it’s a headscratcher; I only properly knew what I wanted to say about it a few
days after watching it. But that’s okay – figuring out a play is a wonderful
activity for your mind in the days after a show, and with I Keep a Woman,
I was pleasantly surprised at the conclusions I reached. And I’m very glad it
turned out to be more than just a provocative title.
Review by
Jackie Edwards.
Tickets
I keep a
woman in my flat chained to a radiator appears at Edinburgh Zoo at 16:00 until Sunday 29th August 2016. Tickets
cost £9 (£7 conc) and are available at the usual Fringe outlets and online at https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/i-keep-a-woman-in-my-flat-chained-to-a-radiator
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