Theatre / Social and political theatre
Review: Slap and Tickle (Tobacco Factory Theatres)
I don’t mind being taken out of my comfort zone – in fact I usually relish it, especially if it results in me learning something new or questioning my preconceptions. But Slap and Tickle did neither: it just made me feel awkward and rather miserable.
We were promised ‘a dark and ribald physical commentary on cultural mores, forays and sexual taboos’ and told to expect ‘a feminist soup that lurches from spoken word to expressionist movement, from music hall to radio nostalgia, from costume change to prop manipulation’.
I hold my hands up: I didn’t get it. But I don’t always have to ‘get’ theatre in order to enjoy, or at least appreciate, it.
is needed now More than ever
An hour long (and never has an hour felt more like a week), this three-act show takes the audience through the various stages of a woman’s life and several decades of music. To be fair, I liked a lot of the music, which included numbers by Doris Day and Ian Dury. As for the life stages, well, I’m heading towards the end of Act Two and if that’s what Act Three is going to be like, it doesn’t much appeal.
In a rare moment of light relief, a game of Pass the Parcel makes most of us laugh for a few moments and my companion is happy to take home a bar of Swiss-mountain-inspired chocolate. But a second section of audience participation involving balloons is rather tedious, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who can’t wait for it to be over (two seats away from me a man is rocking back and forth, hands over his ears, quietly saying ‘no, no, no’ to himself).
Stuffing is pulled out of bras, copper coins are released from pants, a ventriloquist dummy baby is dangled from its umbilical cord then thrown to the floor. A lot of it verges on repulsive, little of it entertains, much of it makes me long for it to end. If I search for positives, I quite like some of the choreography and the lighting is good.
Theatre is subjective. This wasn’t my cup of tea, but it might be yours. You’ve got until Saturday to find out.
Slap and Tickle continues at the Spielman Theatre, Tobacco Factory Theatres until Saturday, November 10. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/slap-and-tickle
Read more: Preview: Celebration, Florida (Tobacco Factory Theatres)
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