by Diana Miranda
Who wants one other romance track? The query is doubtlessly harmful, contemplating that Swifties are pouring out from each crevice in London in direction of Wembley Stadium this weekend. But after a profitable run at Brighton Fringe, Isabel Songer has no concern of mentioning the matter in her solo piece, Flat 4. Following a younger girl entering into the world of independence, this drama presents a peek into the enjoyment and complexities we might discover not in a associate, however in friendship.
The play revolves round Alex (performed by Songer), a pupil who idealises the liberty of impartial life and flat-sharing (a relatable subject, certainly). A actuality examine quickly follows, beginning with the invention that measuring the hob’s warmth utilizing your hand isn’t the wisest transfer.
Songer’s face is an open guide, every expression clear with pleasure, shock or despair. On the opposite hand, the low-pressure vibe Alex is striving for in her younger grownup life is plainly captured in her cloud-patterned pyjamas and unkempt hair. It’s an enthralling contact giving infantile vibes, which is delightfully ironic.
In the fast-paced monologue that races forward, listening to Alex looks like chatting with a pal who’s desperate to share. It will be difficult to meet up with the phrases, and the efficiency leans closely on the textual content and never sufficient on the motion onstage. Despite this, Songer’s writing is entertaining all through, and her superbly rhythmic spoken phrase passages evoke the want for a higher reminiscence to retain a few of it.
The present captures the inevitable stumbles as Alex begins making her personal selections. We witness her battle with an undiagnosed consuming dysfunction, insecurities triggered by manipulative males, and, most importantly, the unravelling of her life after she lets down her flatmate-turned-best pal, Bex, in a second of want.
There’s one thing actually refreshing in the way in which the play critiques the societal obsession with romantic relationships. However, for a present that guarantees an ode to friendship, it stays largely Alex-centric, with Bex feeling extra like a supporting participant. The storytelling makes us a part of key moments of their friendship –from hilarious 999 calls to harrowing nights out– however stays principally filtered by way of Alex’s viewpoint. Bex’s stirring monologue, additionally carried out by Songer, amplifies the narrative, however this second looks like a fleeting, taking pictures star.
The sound and lighting designs that often flood the single-chair setting have an simple DIY stamp. Songer proudly embraces a fringe theatre fashion at The Libra Theatre Café, however these parts come throughout as an afterthought and generally really feel extra distracting than immersive, like throughout a clubbing scene’s eye-stabbing, stroboscopic lights. Although, on second thought, eye-stabbing lighting whereas drunk in a membership is a reasonably correct setting.
At its core, Flat 4 is a heart-stirring play filled with potential, and a uncommon, much-needed narrative to place righteously ahead friendship as bonds which can be as vital and complicated as another. With fine-tuned visible parts and a tighter staging, the writing shall develop into the highly effective love letter it guarantees to ship about soul mates exterior of romantic love.
Flat 4 runs although August 18th.
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