Both hilarious and emotionally vulnerable, “I’m Not Being Funny” asks: is laughter really the best medicine?
“She’s signed them both up. Her and her husband. For stand-up comedy.”
Peter and Billie spend a night in their living room trying to come up with a ‘tight five’, delving through their past for material. Memories resurface, painful truths are revealed, and with their baby asleep next door they ask themselves, is laughter the best medicine? Written by Piers Black and directed by Bryony Shanahan, I’m Not Being Funny portrays humour and pain existing alongside each other, as they do in real life.
Tia Bannon plays Billie across from Jerome Yates who plays her husband Peter and their chemistry forms a beautiful, believable couple with over a decade’s worth of history. The Bush Theatre studio space is the perfect fit for Tia and Jerome to dance around the stage as if it was their own living room. The vulnerability of the actors is palpable in the room and they navigate the depths of the story with precision and skill. The layers of performance required for these characters (actors playing people rehearsing for a stand-up set in their living room while receiving audience feedback in real time) must demand commendable mental fortitude.
The characters of Billie and Peter seem like the typical young Millennial, slightly cringe, tired new parent. Throughout the 90-minute runtime, we delve into who these people were at every stage of their relationship – how Peter, an emotionally repressed boy, and Billie, an outgoing thrill-seeking girl fell in love. We see flashbacks to them deciding to have a child and their current family dynamic with their daughter.
The direction and performances truly bring the writing to life – Billie and Peter’s childhood memories ooze charm and teenage awkwardness (special mention to recreating the Titanic movie scenes). This is a brilliant creative choice and is necessary for us to feel the significance of the unavoidable, heavy, adult issues that await us in the final section of the play. The pacing in the final section feels slightly erratic, as we see them escalate and de-escalate their arguments one too many times over the course of a single evening. However, the strong emotions always feel realistic and anyone who has been in a tense situation with someone they live with (i.e. everyone) will be able to relate to the whirlwind of thoughts and feelings going on in the character’s head.
There is a particular moment where Jerome Yates depicts a physical outburst of anxiety and anger in such a raw way that is rarely depicted onstage. Notably, it did not feel like a ‘staged’ or palatable version of an emotional breakdown, but instead a version of uncontrolled anger that would be viewed as embarrassing or shameful if seen by anyone else. The choice to go to that place in a play that starts off with dad jokes and teenage dances, and have each of those moments carry as much weight as a dark moment of mental health is a testament to the skill and willingness of the creative team to take risks.
Overall, this is a well written and directed play with brilliant intentional creative choices. The show knows what it is and executes it brilliantly with two stars at the helm of the show.
I’m Not Being Funny’s run at Bush Theatre has been extended until 13th June due to popular demand. Tickets here.