In their series of short monologues posted online, The Lockdown Theatre Company, formed by writer and producer Rohan Candappa, have shown considerable talent and prescience in these troubled and confusing times. I have watched 8 of these monologues to date, and this one, The Last Cave Man, performed by Vinesh Veerasami, is the least convincing for me.
Veerasami portrays a middle-aged businessman chatting candidly to the camera. The shirt and tie give an air of professionalism whilst the grey background is bland and unhelpful. He speaks mostly in a cultured London-area accent, and during the course of the monologue shows skill in speaking in a more coarse East End accent as well as "going back to his roots" and immitating the stereotypical speech patterns of Indians when speaking English. (a white person doing this would have been criticised for being racist).
The monologue is about hair-cutting. His mother would always cut his hair as a boy, and then, one day, he suddenly was told old to have it cut by his mother any more and was taken to a barbers. He recalls his first barbershop experience, and how they are different from today; and also shoehorning in a reference to Sweeney Todd too.
It is unclear whether or not the barber's shop is a metaphor, and if so, what for; and we never really understand the reason for his telling this tale. Maybe I missed something...
Reviewer - Chris Benchley
on - 9/8/20
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