Thorny issues explored with formal inventiveness
“I’m not blind, I’m a person of low sight!”. We open in a GP surgery where we find that Matteen’s (Aarian Mehrabani) disability has been reclassified overnight – some clever lawyers have changed the BDM so he’s no longer legally blind. Too bad he’s still actually blind.
Flawbored’s second show What’s the F**king Point is a sharp and darkly comedic exploration of identity politics and highlights the carelessness in which disabled person are often treated in the healthcare system.
The satire is welcome in the first half of the play and the writing is well-constructed. We have all met a variation of the straight-talking and charmless locum (Samuel Brewer) who is utterly hopeless in helping Matteen, Julia (Madison Clare) and Beth (Chloe Palmer) to understand their diagnoses. Flawbored is not afraid of asking thorny questions and the play’s events feel utterly timeless against a backdrop of cuts to welfare spending. Scenes in a disability support group see the actors take on identities that are not their own in a fearless jab at the conversations that often revolve around disability.
However, at times, it can feel we only scratch the surface at these divisive issues. Talk of labels and diagnoses becomes slightly repetitive and the tonal change halfway, though well-intended to sharply twist our perception of the play’s events, isn’t entirely pulled off. It’s certainly highly watchable with all four actors showing a strong versatility as they become gripped by the play’s growing absurdity. The conclusion results in a necessary thematic climax but feels like it could have merited more of a build to come to its full potential; we partly wish for learning more about the people behind the issues that Flawbored so aptly explores.
What’s the F**king Point excellently builds on the company’s existing meta-theatrical style. The use of integrated audio description (narration by Rob Merriam) is smartly embedded into the performance. Rather than solely making the play more accessible, it adds an observant level of humour that seeks to enhance the overall experience. It’s something that mainstream theatre could take note of as Flawbored truly showcases audio description as a storytelling technique in its own right.
We do slightly lose the pace through the play’s design. Descending into darkness with the voice of Merriam accompanying the transition between every scene breaks a sense of flow, even if it has comedic results. Otherwise, the accompanying lighting and sound design of Jodi Rabinowitz and Sarah Spencer help capture the play’s different environments, matched by the cool tones of Cara Evans’ set.
Whilst you’ve left wishing the story had been pushed further, Flawbored is clearly a company to watch with their unique formal inventiveness and fearless approach to storytelling.
What’s The F**king Point? concludes its run at Bristol Old Vic tonight. It will play at the Young Vic in London from 2nd to 24th April 2027. Tickets here.