Sex and the single (texting) digit! Johnny McKnight’s latest comedy deals fearlessly with the issue of lonely hearts (or in this case lonely beds) in the 21st century.
Following some virtual flirting and overt sexting in a late night chat room, Laura (Amy Conachan) and Jake (James Young) decide to meet up in Laura’s flat. It is less wltm but more the cut to the chase honesty of wltSh!
Laura has been up front and honest when Jake asks for some vital statistics but the old issue of Mars and Venus is alive and well between the sexes so his idea of being legless and Laura’s are universes apart. Even when he sees her bespoke low kitchen worktops, the reality of her disability doesn’t dawn on him. The result is a no holds barred, eye wateringly funny piece of theatre.
Behind the giant image of a jumble of naked limbs lies a cuboid set containing the scarlet fairy lit bordello style bedroom where Laura sits negligéed and waiting for her lover for the night.
The knotty problems and see-saw dynamics of the pair who are keen to have sex but don’t know each other is captured through McKnight’s brilliant ear for authentic West of Scotland speech. Captions and emoticons appear as sur-text with action narrated by audio describer, Julie Brown, whose dry, non- committal tones as observer manage to create a highly comic, virtual ménage a trois.
The texting abbreviations in this piece use every letter in the alphabet except p c, something McKnight set out to achieve from the get go with artistic director Robert Softley Gale, whose skills are manifest in style throughout.
Amy Conachan, who is still a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, makes a assured theatre debut as the confident character, Laura, that augurs well for her future career on stage. James Young excels in the role of the confused male doing his best in a situation where he doesn’t know the rules. His gift of clowning comes to the fore in the hilarious stripping scene at the start and he and Conachan clearly have a natural rapport.
McKnight’s script is jammed with surprises and has a musical backing that sounds just right for the twenty somethings who star. This explicit piece is bursting with outrageous humour. It looks fearlessly at some of the problems of the instantaneity of modern life where relationships can be condensed to their essentials though deeper desires remain the same.
Wendy Hoose contains strong language and scenes of a sexual nature. All performances include audio description, BSL and animated surtitles. Recommended Age: 16+
Show times
Tron Theatre (Glasgow)
Fri 7 March - Sat 15 March
8pm
£10/£7.50
0141 552 4267 / www.tron.co.uk
Paisley Arts Centre
Tue 18 March
1:30pm
£10/£6
0300 300 1210 / www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/onlinebooking
macrobert (Stirling)
Wed 19 March
7:30pm
£10.50/£9/£5 (student)
01786 466666 / www.macrobert.org
The Lemon Tree (Aberdeen)
Thu 20 March
7pm
£13.20/£11
01224 641122 / www.aberdeenperformingarts.com
Lochgelly Centre (Fife)
Sat 22 March
7:30pm
£7.50/£5
01592 583303 / www.onfife.com
Achmore Hall (near Stromeferry)
Tue 25 March
8pm
£9/£7/£3 (under 18s)
01599 577296 / www.lochan.info
Eden Court (Inverness)
Wed 26 March
8pm
£12/£8
01463 234234 / www.eden-court.co.uk
THE STUDIO @ THE FESTIVAL THEATRE (Edinburgh)
Sat 29 March
7:30pm
£14/£7