The subject of death and dying, the so called last taboo, is coming out of the closet. The media abounds with programmes covering the topic and Parliament has recently debated assisted dying. We have a large ageing population, so it’s no wonder that death and how people live their lives is on the agenda.
In youth, life seems infinite and you immortal, but to paraphrase Joan Bakewell, as you gets older that protective filter that blocks the reality of life being finite and you being mortal starts to thin making time become more valuable. This very subject is tackled in the latest work from young Glasgow based theatre maker Jenna Watt as she looks at how decisions people make impact on their lives for good or ill. Departing from her previous solo style, she is joined for this production by Ashley Smith.
The use of the word ‘dash’ in the show’s title comes not from some jive talk, but from the dash on a gravestone or plaque between a birth date and a death date. In other words, your dash is your life. The piece is based on real life testimonies and takes the form of a series of soundbites and aphorisms like “the rest of our lives is the best of our lives” that are part of several mini scenes involving the acting out of various motivational exercise tapes to music and some stories of failure, depression and gloom.
One man is so disillusioned he packs in his long term job and another randomly fires a pellet at a globe and decides to leave his family go where it lands, in this case Saudi Arabia. While there is a cyclical element to the expression of the polar opposite effects of positive and negative behaviour that’s expressed through fulsome performances from the two women, the overall feeling is that the show as a whole feels bitty and unpolished, failing to match up to the poignancy of Watt’s final speech.
The symbolism of everything ultimately going up in smoke and the scraping sounds of a stuck gramophone records is not lost but the blowing of smoke through a funnel, much of which lands on Watt’s face, seems a reckless gesture even for art.
It’s an ambitious and insightful subject matter with a positive message about the importance of living well no matter how long you have left, but it will take more than a few puffs of coloured smoke to make it more meaningful beyond Watt’s own generation.
Thursday 11 – Saturday 13 Feb (13th captioned)
8pm