REVIEWED: A HUNDRED MINUS ONE DAY

As the first DDF show this year, it definitely sets the standard very high for all the other upcoming shows. It is not only funny and touching, but most importantly it constantly surprises the audience.

The venue of the Hatfield Birley Room provided a perfect intimacy for the setting. With the audience being within a metre’s distance from the actors, the piece gains authenticity boldly exposing skilful character development and revealing vulnerability to every subtle expression on the actors’ faces. We’re presented with a set consisting of a bed, drawer, wardrobe, a pile of clothes, teddy bears and pink stickers everywhere. It is a normal children’s bedroom, but ominously in the corner we see a wheelchair.

Jen’s (Steffie Walker) coming back home. Her Dad’s (Tom Eklid) greeting of ‘you look awful’ is nothing but a cry of helplessness, which humorously displays his love and caring. We find out that Jen is incurably ill. Despite being in her twenties, she has none of the youthful spirit and struggles through her life with an inhaler and packs of pills. Raised by her father, their relationship is one of companionship and the actors playing Jen and Dad convincingly portray this friendly bond. One of the many surprises in the play appears when Daphne (Idgie Beau), Jen’s imaginary friend, suddenly appears from underneath the pile of clothes. Her arrival adds the ideal pace to the piece and propels the action.

With the plot unravelling solely in Jen’s bedroom, the piece is remarkably dynamic. The interaction with Daphne is symbolic of Jen’s mental conflict, yet brings spontaneity and a fair bit of laughter. Those two are not only well written characters, but it is evident that the actors were well directed. Jen in her full black outfit is a complete opposite to the messy, colourful and flamboyant Daphne. The two function as binary opposites of maturity and childishness, sanity and madness, acceptance and rebellion. It’s their contrasting nature that makes their scenes entertaining and their friendship believable, being the two strengths of the show. Perhaps the most poignant scene is that where Daphne tells Jen a story to fall asleep and their differences are finally balanced out.

The energy carried by the actors is another highlight of this performance. Whilst Idgie Beau as Daphne steals the limelight with her crocodile onesie, teletubby hat and general quirkiness, the neurotic Jen played by Steffie Walker manages to be moving. Will Downes, as the one-night-stand guy, has just the right amount of awkwardness. Unfortunately, despite Tom Eklid’s effective portrayal of his character’s naivety, his performance lacks a father-like sense of concern and resentment, especially during the funeral speech.

Some elements of the show seemed unnecessary. The red flickering light symbolising Jen’s mental breakdown didn’t do justice to the emotions it was trying to represent. The final scene with the father’s speech could’ve been shortened or stripped of its didacticism. Nonetheless, the piece defends itself by being humorous and moving, which is a praiseful achievement. The Winnie the Pooh reference ties the emotional bonds of the show. The overall concept resembles ‘Oscar and the Lady in Pink’ , which thematically perhaps isn’t innovative, but the show itself is refreshingly enjoyable.