“A moving show that will change your perception on the power of running.”
Directed and performed by the poetry-slam-winning poet and prolific writer and director P Burton-Morgan themselves, this solo poetry show running at Riverside Studios is not what you might expect. Running commentary is not simply a show about running – but about life, motherhood, body acceptance, gender and sexuality, grief, addiction, and a pinch of horniness for good measure.
The stage is laid bare, simply strewn with a yoga mat, a chair and a water bottle. P is dressed in plain running clothes, their face red as if fresh from a jog. Just as the audience, P seems to have come as they are, and is already interacting with the audience before the show has even started, making jokes and gathering data on each person’s running times, as if we were simply some friends meeting up.
The show does not lose its authenticity from start to finish, as P reveals part of their life and soul for the world to see, narrating their journey through getting addicted to running as a coping mechanism, to embodying a healthier relationship with it, interspersed with their poetry. Signalling the end of each poem, P drinks from their water bottle, letting the audience process the darkness or funniness of each. Sometimes it is not clear when a poem has ended, which makes this ritual helpful, but also begs the question: should it be clearer that a poem has in fact ended? This issue with endings is shown once more at the end of the play, where it is unclear at what point the play has indeed ended, just as it was not fully clear when it had started, due to the continuous interactions with the public.
Speaking of interactions, this aspect felt underused throughout the show. It would have made the show even more dynamic to get the audience to react more audibly after key moments, as it was expressed by P at the start that “warming up” our jaw would be necessary for such bits. Especially given that this was a small and intimate setting, you could sometimes feel the slight hesitation of the audience as they were unsure when or how to react to some of the more emotional parts. However, audience participation was used at a key moment and made everyone feel part of what was going on on stage.
The poems are beautifully written, each somehow related to running, but with a deeper message that pulls each heartstring. It is a very original format to make a show out of a string of poems linked together by a narrative, and P did that very well. The whole story was engulfing, as each moment of the narrative was filled with emotion. It is impressive how one person manages to capture an audience’s unfazed attention in that way for a whole hour. No matter your love or hate of running, this show will engulf you in it, and before you know it you will be left with a new perspective on life.
Running commentary runs at Poole Lighthouse on the 9th of July and at Totnes Barrel House on the 11th of July.