Him marks another episode in the 2016 Luminate festival, a chance to explore and celebrate growing older in the 21st century.
This performance is stripped back in the most literal sense, with nothing to hide behind; the stage holds a chair, a screen and a double bass.
However, Tim Barlow is not alone. Although he carries the performance from beginning to end, sitting in his chair or boogying around the stage to his old favourite tunes, he has a companion onstage in Sebastiano Dessanay and a companion in his audience as we listen to his story as surely as if we were his own grandchildren, rapt with attention. There is not one moment when this feels like a one man performance – mostly because it does not feel like a performance, which is part of the absolute charm of the evening.
The story Barlow tells is his own. He comments at the beginning of the various pros and cons of growing old and concludes it is actually quite a nice time of one’s life, despite the occasional physical health panic. He tells it like it is, with humour and charisma in the face of old age, and in the face of how ridiculously the twenty first century deals with this process.
After making his peace with what age is like, he progresses into anecdote. It is a wonderful story he tells, are most people’s if they are given the time to tell it as they deserve. Every so often the story is punctuated by beautiful melodies from Dessanay on the double bass, and video clips on the screen, which give depth to what could be a visually flat performance.
The connection between Barlow and Dessanay is a beautiful one; although they never speak to one another, there is a bond between the two almost as if it is Barlow’s younger self playing the instrument. The presence of another person supports and encourages Barlow’s monologue an brings a true sense of the nature of Luminate to the stage.
The performance does not finish in a way which sits well. It feels like there is more to give when suddenly the performance stops and the artists take their leave, and there is surely more of his story to tell. However, the whole way through there is a beautiful balance between Barlow and Dessanay which not only bridges the generation gap but really makes the performance.
Barlow is enchanting and endearing and any audience would be on side to listen to him talk all night. It is a kind of live memoir, and one which is well worth watching.
20th-22nd October, 7.30pm