'This Skin Of Mine' was performed alongside an array of shows as part of The Little Liverpool Theatre
Festival, which is becoming more and more popular with theatregoers and companies even from outside Liverpool. The Little LTF is supported by The Everyman and Playhouse, two local theatres in Liverpool city centre.
Produced, directed and written by Kai Jolley, he did an excellent job doing all these roles. The direction was concise and tightly controlled, and the writing was excellent, it was black comedy at its very best. The dialogue between the two character was strong vocally, and I loved the balance between tragedy and comedy, which worked incredibly well. There were some highly emotional scenes, you were wanting to cry one minute and laugh the next.
The two cast members, Janelle Thompson as Barrie and Eden Jodie as Sam/Sarah, had an incredible chemistry together on stage and they bounced off each other so well. Having only two characters worked really well as the actresses were given the opportunity to develop their roles and delve into the back stories a lot more, making it feel much more authentic.
The play opened with Barrie returning from the shops with a trolley filled with groceries. Barrie appeared to be extremely stressed out, as she was tending to her terminally ill mother. A blast from past soon appeared in the living room. Initially, Barrie doesn’t recognise her brother, who now has had transgender surgery to make her a woman. She no longer uses the name, Sam, but she calls herself Sarah instead. Barrie was obviously taken aback and didn’t know how to react, as she was in a state of shock.
Once they start chatting and reflecting on old times, Barrie slowly begins to accept the news and comes to terms with the new identity of her older sister, Sarah. She has returned home to see her poorly ill mum, before she passes away. The play tells the struggles and the harrowing journey Sarah has taken to become the independent woman she is now.
The hard-hitting themes in 'This Skin Of Mine' were family relationships, discrimination, race, emotional turmoil, death, self-harm, abuse, domestic violence and transgender equality. The narrative conveyed a lot of difficult subject areas in this highly emotional piece of theatre. I thought all the issues were accurately covered, nicely timed and raised awareness at the same time.
The set design was really good, consisting of some furniture, a couch and ornaments in the living room of Barrie and Sarah’s mum's house. The set was very decorative and had a family portrait on the wall, as a focal point for the audience to look at. The house was scattered with props giving the suggestion that the home was lived in and full of memories.
On a final note, if you like black comedy, you’ll love 'This Skin Of Mine', an outrageously funny and emotional ride at the same time. A brilliant two-hander, beautifully written and performed incredibly well by Thompson and Jodie. A lot of the hard hitting themes covered in the play are still as relevant today as ever, if not more so. I would really like to see this emotional piece of theatre extended into a full-length drama, as a few of these issues could be delved into deeper and explored further.
Reviewer - Mark Cooper
on - 15.7.21
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