Expectations: 3/5
Reality Rating: 4/5
Fidget Factor: 0.2
The Automatics song Monster is blaring over the sound system as the audience enters the space, a perfect reflection of the show; loud and steaming with energy. Screaming in the faces of the audience, David William Bryan makes a rambunctious entrance.
Covered in stench, face creased with dirt, Keith Goodman has been a bin man for 19 years. Young Keith had a grand plan; wedding, house, sky sports then a baby, but not everything works out the way you want it. After getting his girlfriend pregnant at a young age they speed through the necessary steps. Years later they lose their daughter. Keith is left broken, lonely and isolated, with only a strongbow for company as he starts to lose his wife as well, lost to her inconsolable grief. Aggressive, loving and full of pain, Keith expresses every angle of his loss.
Taking an audience member’s drink and downing it before chucking the ice filled cup down into the stage, it’s immediately obvious that Keith isn’t a shy guy. Soaking up several Strongbow’s throughout the performance, this is a man trying to forget, trying to feel numb. Keith’s pain is visibly displayed in William Bryan’s strained neck, tense lips and heightened shoulders when he shares his anxieties and suffering.
Sascha Moore’s writing has created a character that is entirely tangible, and claims empathy from the audience. Making a clear statement, Trashed shows how the role of a dad is perceived by society; how they are expected to stay strong and remain untroubled, ‘We feel it too yeh, the men’. Moore’s writing is not poetic, but real and raw, depicting an authentic man and his feelings.
Unexpectedly, this delicate story is delivered with hoards of comedy, belly jiggling laughter ricochets around the room. David William Bryan makes a conscious effort to include to the entire audience on all three sides, directly interacting with individuals and sharing his cider. Spraying the audience with a bag of crisps, there is no where to hide from the dirt during this grimey performance.
A significant message shared in a stimulating story. Trashed is powerful and provocative.
Click for Tix: @Underbelly Cowgate
Time: 1 hour
Running: 20 Aug 17 > 27 Aug 17
♥ Thank you to Tilly Wilson for the invite
♥ Thanks to Greg for Strongbow illustration
