REVIEW | The Last Show Before We Die, The Yard London
The Last Show Before We Die (L-R) Ell Potter and Mary Higgins. Photo: Felix MosseWritten by Eliott
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
There’s a real ambiguity in what Mary Higgins and Ell Potter, Co-Writers and Performers of The Last Show Before We Die, want us to take away from the hour that we sit and listen to tapes of those they have interviewed about endings.
There are short, quick endings, like leaving the train at the last station on your journey, brushing your teeth, and the pop or bing of your toaster or Microwave, and then there are the longer, more painful goodbyes, from Friendships, Relationships, and the loss of a family member. For Mary and Ell, this production for them is the final show they will ever create together; once the run is over, they will look into one of them moving out of the place they have been housemates, where once they were also partners, but in this hour-long show, they know that deep down, it’s time for them to leave behind the good times, and start again, pastors new.
It’s at times a sentimental blow for us as an audience, as I couldn’t help but disassociate myself with what was happening on stage, to think back on the endings in my life, and actually, this felt like the perfect moment for us all to sit with what we have gone through in our lives, whilst at the same time watching two performers, who we have only just met this one evening, tear up as they realise that things may never be the same again. More of an experimental piece of performance art, it challenges you to understand what the ending to something can really feel like, with some humour added in for equal measure, just in case you may want to laugh through the pain of how you feel inside.
At Yard Theatre until 27 January.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
