REVIEW - I FUCKED YOU IN MY SPACE SHIP

Interstellar metaphor is front and centre in Louis Emmitt-Stern’s invigorating script. A gay couple curious about spicing up their sex life (involving an extraterrestrial costume) and a lesbian couple seeking a male donor for insemination procedure invite a third-party into their lives leading to all manners of complication and mess. These “alien” figures introduced into delicate ecosystems shift dynamics and upend assumptions.

Jonas Moore’s Leo and Rebecca Banatvala’s Anna may be the initial instigators of their respective new associations, but it is their partner’s eventual responses that open fractures and threaten stability. Initially less convinced about seeking a third party, Max Hyner’s Dan gradually drifts towards revelation under the attentions of fresh playmate Al (Felix Kai, who projects a beguiling intergalactic presence). Always happy to please Leo, never questioning his own fancies, Dan submits to the experiment without fail. Coaxed out of complacency, Dan finds a voice for heretofore unarticulated sexual desire (his giddy confession of a long-standing fantasy involving changing rooms has the expressive, eruptive force of finally being able to give voice to a truth long buried under fear, guilt, and embarrassment). That he is able to relate more fully to Al rather than abiding partner Leo exposes the liabilities and fault lines underneath their connection. In the case of Lucy Spreckley’s Emily and Lewis Shepherd’s Robert, the donor who comes to stay, they grow close in ways that Anna cannot access. Emily, open and sweet, embraces Robert’s desire to be a major part of parenthood, while Anna is increasingly marooned in her wariness and resentment. Emmitt-Stern illustrates some sober realities of long-term relationships. There may be a point past which partners expect anything from one another other than what they have already defined. A stale comfort may settle in that stalls them from speaking out lest an established fragile framework breaks. Couples can become unknown to themselves, talking hesitantly around issues.

The script cleverly riffs on themes of invasion and abduction. Alliances and estrangements are made and unmade with a head-spinning velocity. The scenario is a mad roundelay of convergence and divergence. Humour and heartbreak are in equal balance. Moore, in particular, makes Leo’s aggrieved state palpable, perplexed and bewildered at his loss of control. Banatvala makes a humble peace with her own defeat. There is a commendably fresh and candid temper to the dialogue and impressive polish all around. Emmitt-Stern keeps the cosmic theme consistent to the very end, a distraught Leo looking to the skies and a glowing orb under covers.

SAVE THE VAULT FESTIVAL

VAULT Festival has been left without a venue for 2024’s festival and beyond
• VAULT Festival have launched a #SaveVAULT campaign
• The campaign aims are to raise £150,000 by 19th March to support the festival’s survival AND to secure a new home for the festival to continue.
• You can help by donating, helping access funding networks, and helping then find a venue.
• You are officially implored to make the most of 2023’s Festival while it lasts!

{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}

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{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}

A PISSEDMAS CAROL – REVIEW – LEICESTER SQUARE
by Amy Rye
The infamous Sh!t Faced Showtime are back in London with a festive edition, they have taken Dickens’ classic and put a drunken spin on it. The formula is the same as other iterations of the Shi!t Faced shows, one member of the cast has been boozing, and this time it is John Milton who plays Scrooge. Before the show, half a bottle of Jim Beam, some wine, and beer have been consumed in the previous 4 hours. The rest of the cast, try to keep the show on track, also aided by James Murfitt as the compere, Charles Dickens. The … More A PISSEDMAS CAROL – REVIEW – LEICESTER SQUARE
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