CW: mentions of rape, sexual assault and dependancy
by Anne-Charlotte Gerbaud
Recovery isn’t linear, and All the Worst Parts captures it as uncooked, painful, and unresolved. Created by Eden Theatre, this four-part play follows a younger girl navigating the aftermath of sexual violence. What emerges is a layered and sometimes unsettling portrait of trauma, intimacy, and the injury achieved
when nobody listens.
The story begins at a home occasion the place the protagonist, socially awkward and withdrawn, drinks closely to loosen up. The rape that happens that night time isn’t proven however haunts every part that follows. It’s one of many manufacturing’s strengths: exhibiting how one thing conveyed as unremarkable by setting could be devastating in impression.
From there, the viewers follows her try to cope. She buries her emotions, falls into despair and dependancy, and confuses intimacy with sexual efficiency. In her opening monologue, she defiantly hyperlinks masturbation with “taking a shit” and argues that her relationship to porn is regular. It’s
uncomfortable, crude, and unexpectedly humorous. This sort of darkish humour threads by the play, providing each aid and discomfort. It’s laughter as detachment, as defence, as a option to say what can’t be mentioned.
Her story explores how rom-coms and porn have formed her concept of sexuality and heterosexual relationship. A reminiscence of being assaulted throughout a college journey, by somebody who later grew to become her boyfriend, highlights how coercion typically hides in plain sight. Her mattress symbolises this rigidity, holding each security and hurt. Childhood reminiscences of consolation sit uneasily with sexual encounters the place the road between consent and pleasure is unclear. In one scene, a associate’s “You’re so sexy” feels extra like a sentence. Another chokes her and asks, “Is it good?” The climax comes when she sees her reflection in a mirror and tells him to depart, a small however vital second of company.
All the Worst Parts is fragmented and deliberately disorienting. Its 4 chapters loosely observe phases of grief or trauma restoration, however the construction generally falters. Switches between recorded dialogue and reported speech create a disjointed rhythm that often weakens readability. While this fragmentation mirrors the protagonist’s fractured psyche, it will possibly additionally depart the viewers indifferent. This ambiguity extends to the viewers’s function, particularly when she breaks the fourth wall by stealing banknotes from an empty seat, prompting us to query whether or not we’re voyeurs, witnesses, or one thing else fully.
One of the play’s boldest selections is refusing to make its character likeable. She is bitter, unstable, and sometimes pushes others away. It’s a transfer that will alienate some, however it displays how trauma isolates, and the way society typically calls for victims be excellent to be believed.
While the play generally falters in construction and pacing, its insights are sometimes sharp and unsettling. With extra dramaturgical precision, All the Worst Parts may transfer from promising to profound. As it stands, it’s a courageous piece of theatre that echoes the expertise of many victims of sexual assault.
All the Worst Parts ran by 20 April.
The Play’s the Thing UK is dedicated to masking fringe and progressive theatre in London and past. It is run fully voluntarily and desires common assist to make sure its survival. For extra data and to assist The Play’s the Thing UK present protection of the theatre that wants evaluations essentially the most, visit its patreon.
Leave a Reply