This show will rip you apart emotionally, but it will also put you back together again

This is a show about death. It is also a show about folk music, an arson attack on a pub in Yorkshire, and brewing beer. But it is mainly, and most impactfully, about death. 

Sh!t Theatre are a long-running theatrical duo who have been putting on shows together now for over a decade to much critical acclaim. This was, however, my first time seeing a Sh!t Theatre show, and it has me kicking myself that I have missed out on years of seeing their shows. This show intertwines storytelling with folk songs and encourages audience participation (but no one is forced to so do not fear). It tells the story of the duo attending a folk sing around in a pub in Yorkshire which then gets firebombed a week later. It also acts as a bit of an introduction into the world of folk music and a lot of the meaning behind it, and it is also a devastating and impactful work on the topic of death and grief.

This show is funny. There are lots of jokes throughout, but often there is a dark undertone that comes with it all. This darkness grows and the deeper meaning behind everything becomes more clear, and it emotionally destroys you. This was the first time I have cried at a theatre show in years, and I was certainly not the only one brought to tears. The emotional climax is so raw and real, that I almost felt like I was intruding on a very private moment of grief, but that is part of it. The weird performance that comes along with loss and grief is explored in this show and all sense of artifice melts away and everything becomes so very visceral. It is heavy, but this is matched with the charming wit and camaraderie between the 2 performers and creators of the show, Louise Mothersole & Rebecca Biscuit. If you want to know the background around the creation of the show, this can easily be found online, but no research is necessary to understand the emotional impact of what happened. 

The heavy themes that end the show have, for obvious reasons, stuck most heavily in my mind, however this show is also a demonstration by 2 seasoned performers of just how good they are at what they do. The jokes all land. The singing is well done. The costuming and lighting all work to enhance the story being told. It is all in all a faultless show which has a universal message and appeal. 

In conclusion, I wholeheartedly recommend this show. It will rip you apart emotionally, but it will also put you back together again. Whether you have experienced grief yourself or not, this show talks to the universal human experience of loss, and the pain that we will all ultimately feel in our lives. It is also funny. I do have to stress, it is a show about death, grief, and pain, but there’s also a lot of laughs. 

Sh!t Theatre: Or What’s Left Of Us is playing at Soho Theatre until 30th November, and then returns in 2025 from February 17th – March 1st.