So That You May Go Beyond The Sea, Camden People’s Theatre Review

Gabriele Uboldi and Joey Jepps in Undone Theatre's So That You May Go Beyond The Sea, photo by Jack Sain 

Reviewed by Eleanor for Theatre and Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review

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So That You May Go Beyond The Sea is a show within a show. It tells of Joey (Joey Jepps) and Gabs (Gabriele Uboldi), a couple living and writing together in London. They are trying to put together a show about Madama Butterfly; an opera about a white man (Lieutenant Pinkerton) marrying and impregnating a Japanese Geisha (Cio-Cio-San), who is then driven to suicide by his actions. It is a story still being performed today. This is put into perspective against Joey’s own family dynamic, with his white, British father and Japanese mother. In trying to break down the themes of this opera he is forced to reflect on ideas of fetishism and racism, which is sometimes made more difficult by Gabs’ involvement – who first introduced Joey to the opera and is Italian like the composer Giacomo Puccini. This then leads Joey to be more introspective and review his own relationship, which begins to break down. With this in mind, Joey and Gabs wonder if they should write a show where the audience come away feeling good, or one when they must reflect on how their own inaction as an audience can have an impact.

This show is raw and highly personal, with both men playing themselves and laying bare their relationship and insecurities. They mention in passing that the original show would have had Joey being played by a different actor, to create a layer of separation. But it is this closeness to the true story which helps strengthen the narrative. Both men are excellent story tellers and very engaging to both watch and listen to. 

As well as the deeper moral questions being discussed in So That You May Go Beyond The Sea, there were some more light-hearted moments as well.  Gabriele Uboldi’s keenness to include characterisations and his physicality may not have made me laugh out loud, but I was definitely smiling. I also loved hearing directly from Joey’s strong-willed mother, who had an innate likeability, who appeared in the form of recorded audio interviews. 

Although the staging of the show was limited, it was very effective how both men started and ended the show sitting within the audience. This did help me to both start and end the show considering the role of an audience. I also really enjoyed the use of smaller models and how these were projected onto a larger screen. Equally, I appreciated the personal photos and videos Joey Jepps included in the piece, such as a portion of his parent’s wedding video. This really helped the audience create a more personal connection with his family and truly highlighted how different their situation was from the Madama Butterfly narrative. 

I found So That You May Go Beyond The Sea to be an insightful and personal look at racism and cultural appropriation while dissecting the story of Madama Butterfly through a modern and personal lens. It was an interesting show which made me think and also made me smile. When I saw the production, the audience really connected with the material. It was so interesting to be part of the crowd upon exciting the auditorium and hearing how the piece struck accord with so many people. I certainly came away reflecting on how impactful inaction is in the face of important issues.

So That You May Go Beyond The Sea is playing at Camden People’s Theatre from the 1st May 2024 – 4th May 2024. 

☆ ☆ ☆