“Situationshi*t is a hilarious and articulate version of those ‘DROP EVERYTHING NOW’ conversations we all have when our front door closes after a first date.”
Situationsh*t is a one woman show which chronicles Emily Drewett’s foray into modern dating after the end of a long term relationship. We follow Drewett into her DM’s, through bedrooms, past flatmate hallway conversations with witty interludes of internal dialogue bejeweled with sincerity and at times, tears.
The show begins abruptly, with a hilarious and highly relatable mantra for young creatives repeated over and over as the door is slammed shut with Drewett slinking against the theater wall. The idea of love and unintentional emotional entanglements is situated alongside navigating the precarity of early adulthood. Who do you listen to? Yourself? Friends? Randos at the gay club? … a beautiful guitar solo from the man you’re sleeping with? Belly laughs erupt and even a ‘oh no girl,’ is uttered from behind as together we are thrown into universal scenarios such as the … so what is this? conversation.
A tender scene investigates what we’re left with after the end of a relationship, even if it was genuinely outgrown and time to move on. Tennis shoes bought years before the end of the relationship and still worn past its end. Things in daily life that are still good, still habitual, yet at times may leave you feeling pathetic if you run into said ex wearing said shoes.
As a performer, Drewett is a ball of energy and precision. Her stamina is infectious as she drove the show forward at an excitingly brisk pace. She uses all reaches of the space, darting from point to point both on stage and among the audience. Repeated quick blackouts rhythmically complement Drewett’s switches, speed-ups, and halts. The minimal set, one bed with a quilted bedspread with minimal lighting served to showcase exceptional performance and writing. Situationshit is like watching an episode of New Girl as if it was the World Cup.
High praises for the show in its subversive approach to the subject matter. Instead of dialogue spent on ruminating about males or ‘wanting the next step’ from a gray space partner, the only thing Drewett mourns is a loss of time. As a situationship arises, the giggling heroine sidesteps needy men. Without falling into pitfalls of weeping woman stereotypes or bitterness, the writing is proudly female centric. It is important to note however that Situationsh*t seems to report from a distinctly straight and British perspective as some of the inside jokes that left the room in stitches were lost on me, a queer non-Brit. ‘Going to a gay club because less men hit on you there,’ alongside dancing at a podium at the club was reminiscent of articles that argue LGBTQ can be appropriated. This small statement was a distraction that pulled me out of the world of an otherwise brilliant show. However the location, dancing, and club music utilized in this scene were delightful.
The show promises rhythm, alongside being fast, funny and unfiltered. Surrounded by a room full of laughter, it does not disappoint. Situationsh*t takes a simple, well known, phrase and teases out the complexities of inner questioning and the conversations that play on repeat about your situationship to girlfriends. All the frustrating realisations that come with dating that make you go well… shit.
Situationsh*t has concluded its run as part of the Camden Fringe.