All of Us Want Something To Get Over at Bread and Roses Theatre review – ‘raw theatre, boatfuls of energy’

All Of Us Want Something To Get Over
Alex Wingfield (Memphis) in All Of Us Want Something To Get Over at the Bread and Roses Theatre 'til 29th February. Photo by Dione Lemoni.

All of Us Want Something To Get Over, Bread and Roses Theatre review ★★★★☆ by Ifan Llewelyn

Love. Intimacy. Sex. Three seemingly simple concepts, but three that most of us rarely go a minute without thinking about. In an increasingly honest society, they seem to be dominating the cultural conversation. All of Us Want Something To Get Over is an evening of performance that hones in on that cultural conversation, working through it collectively in a pink-tinged womb of bed linens, before culminating in Vogue Giambri’s zealous play on romantic dysfunction. It’s an evening of raw theatre that has boatfuls of energy and fervour.

Each evening, three performers are invited to provide the title play a prologue of performance, from burlesque to stand up. Opening comedian Karen Hobbs was a warm welcome to the evening and somehow managed to make her experience with cervical cancer a laugh-a-minute. From handjobs on mopeds, to “Are you bleeding because my dick’s too big?”, she really went there. After a woolly musical interlude of “Dirty Knickers” by Georgina Daniels, and a tepid performance of a “My First Time Was in A Parking Lot” by Phoebe Wood, the stage was set. 

All Of Us Want Something To Get Over
Abbi Douetil (Gert) in All Of Us Want Something To Get Over at the Bread and Roses Theatre ’til 29th February. Photo by Dione Lemoni.

Bounding into the performance space, stripping layers of clothing as they did so, came Gert and Memphis. Gert is reluctantly falling in love with Memphis, but has one distinct problem: she can’t cum. Memphis, on the other hand, is eager to make Gert love him but is struggling with his hypochondriac tendencies. From STDs to the beeping of the carbon monoxide detector, he’s riddled with worries of the danger that surrounds him. Crashing against each other, pushing each other’s buttons, they try and work through their past traumas. 

From the minute the work gets going, it rarely takes a minute to pause and take a breath. Popcorn fights turn into shouting matches which inevitably leads to this production’s catchline: “Do you want to fuck?”. As the nervous yet eager Memphis, Alex Wingfield is sensitive to the character’s struggles and desires, his motivations in constant flux between the two. Abbi Douetil’s Gert is that bratty little girl turned complicated young adult which you can’t help but recognise. We all know a Gert. Douetil throws herself into the role, performing with admirable freedom. 

There are flickers of genius throughout this production. Amy Reade’s bold directorial choices are a delight with the choreographed figurative sex scenes, where the copulators frantically pull on elasticated balloons, being a true stroke of genius. For a debut work, Vogue Giambri’s writing is exciting and unhindered, taking a frank and honest look at the troubles plaguing today’s young couples.

All Of Us Want Something To Get Over at the Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham ’til 29th February. breadandrosestheatre.co.uk

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