Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space, Greenside @ Riddles Court Review
Written by Kerry McLaughlin for Theatre & Tonic
Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space follows a couple, Lily and Gareth, trying to gain their stork card, which grants them the legal right to have their child and become a family.
The setup of the show is simplistic; two light-up cubes transport the audience through the week in which the play is set. Both actors wear a lanyard with a torch. These two pieces are continued to be used in inventive and creative ways throughout, never overshadowing the choreographed style, which at some points feels like the characters are merging into one before being ripped apart seconds later.
There’s an intimacy to the piece which stands on its own two shoulders, shining through its protagonists played by Briony Martha and Zak Reay-Barry. On the sidelines but very much in the game, Torya Winters is a voice to behold. If she wasn’t in clear view of the audience, you would have believed there was a multitude of actors running back and forth between the mic. The social commentary of the piece is and will continue to be relevant, showing a realistic ideology of what our future may look like. And yes, the title does hold relevance.
Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space plays at Greenside @ Riddles Court until 23 August
★ ★ ★ ★.5
