My Name is Sue

From the moment Dafydd James’ plainly-dressed,  dare I say frumpy, character Sue switched on the lights and settled down to her piano, it was clear this piece of comedy was going to have a seriously dark side.
 
Sipping a little too often from a cup of water and ingesting pills at an increasingly alarming rate, Sue re-tells the events of her life through the medium of song.   Each song begins with somewhat excessive positivity, as mundane events, such as “Tea with Sue and family”, are seen in the glow of a pill-induced optimism.  However, in a darkly comic way that makes you laugh when you really shouldn’t, each tale has a tragic twist (e.g. Sue’s mum choking on a bourbon biscuit and collapsing into a flan) that leaves Sue seeming just a little bit more unhinged than she did before.

What makes this show different from most comedy is the drip feed of information which provides a genuinely compelling story that you’d never get from a conventional stand-up.  Sue seems almost normal at first (Welsh, single, middle-aged, a little too smiley), then 3 “phantom Sues” arrive – apparently existing primarily in Sue’s mind - to accompany Sue on the cello, violin and drums respectively.  It’s disturbing but very funny. 

Eventually it is apparent that not only is Sue mad, but she’s also something of a prophet, whose final song (“the only one she really wanted to play”) contains a not-so-subtle message about the impending apocalypse.  However, the endless twists and turns are so engaging that many were persuaded to sing along with this less than positive final note with baffling optimism!  “We’re all going to die”, but surprisingly merry about it. 

It would be fair to say that not everyone in the North Wall Arts Centre engaged to the same extent with the piece and the unique, unapologetically bizarre style probably isn’t best suited to Oxford’s (and particularly Summertown’s) more conservative tastes.  I wonder why on earth the North Wall can attract the best of last year’s Edinburgh Festival to perform (this being one example) yet can’t persuade more people to travel 10 minutes from the city centre to be in the audience.  If this show is the standard to expect, such a journey is to be heartily recommended.

The North Wall Arts Centre is presenting special preview performances for shows going to this year’s Edinburgh Festival from 28th-31st July 2010.

Andrew Johnson (Unverified), 16/07/10

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