A great way to tell a story that should be told
Lena is an activist but the way she’s going about is by trying to convert her tinder dates?
The premise is solid, with the show opening with relatable dating stories until the reveal is ushered in. Lena (Bibi Lucille) targets meat eating dates and then converts them to veganism with unsolicited physical touch and facts and figures – her most recent let down being a date who was already vegan. What a waste.
Over the course of an hour we meet a multitude of caricatures including the clothing activist, Chris the manager and a wannabe DJ Brother – all played skillfully by Bibi Lucille. The script is snappy and laden with jokes but it’s here where the first flaws in the piece are revealed. Many of the clever punchlines are dropped due to the delivery being too presented or not being given the space to breathe. This problem repeats itself throughout the show with the only real guffaw I shared being about a very silly tomato joke, why? Because it wasn’t presented as a joke rather thrown away – making it funnier.
Bibi uses the space well and the few moments she came out of character when bumping into objects actually warmed the audience to her more as a performer. Which leads me to Lena as a character, she is remarkably unlikeable and has few redeeming qualities in the first 40 minutes of the play. It’s not until the moments she reveals her longing for Mozart that we really discover the warmth of the character. Once that hits Bibi does a lovely job of building the connection however it feels a little too late – trying to ramp up the emotional connection in the final moments.
There’s a question to be asked about a character who actively manipulates and lies to people to get them to do what they want and when called out learns nothing.
The core of the story is clear and impactful – the sadness and loneliness of trying to make a difference in the world and not feeling like you have any control. It’s a (what I would hope) universal feeling and it is definitely what we are left with at the end of the piece.
Overall it’s a show that deserves to have its say!
Catch Meat Cute at Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose from 2-13, 15-27 at 18:20pm.