I was invited to watch Tightrope theatre production of Emile and Emily at the VAULT Festival. I attended the matinee performance on Saturday 25th February 2023. Stay tuned for a post on the VAULT Festival coming soon
I’m not sure how to explain the show so I will take the synopsis from the programme...
Emile and Emily are best friends in a flat share, flight attendants confronting gravity, and participants in a disastrous celebrity interview.
This experimental new piece of theatre created by writers Mojola Akinyemi, Nurit Chinn and Philippa Lawford explores the limitless potential of language.
Two characters, three stories: a dizzying exploration of possibility.
I will say I did enjoy the show, especially more as it went on, Act 3 being my favourite however it left me very confused, mainly in how the 3 story’s linked if it all?!
Act 1 felt very uneventful just a regular conversation between two flat mates. As it progressed it did get more interesting with some heavier topics but I felt the story was a bit flat overall. However act 1 was my mums favourite act.
Act 2 was funnier and I did enjoy it more because of this. I felt the story in act 2 was a bit disjointed, I understand that it was different points within the flight however a lot of the conversations ended unanswered and it remained that way. I did like the partnering of the older generation with young and that added to the comedy but this vignette didn’t seem to fit with the others as it didn’t have as heavy conversation topics.
Act 3 gripped me from the start and was much more emotional as it explores the effects of grief. The first two acts didn’t have me feeling much other than confused whereas this act was quite sad and the actors showed their emotion well. It’s a very awkward scene which comes off well so credit to the actors for doing that well.
As mentioned previously I was confused how each act linked whether it was supposed to be the same characters, exploring the different parts of a queer relationship I’m not sure; if there was a link it wasn’t obvious. With the show only being 60 minutes long it cuts each act to roughly 20 minutes which is one of the things that lets the play down. By the time you have understood the situation, got to know the characters and start to connect with them it changes to a new act with new characters and a new story. For me I would really like to see more of the third act and explore that story more.
Despite the confusion I did enjoy the show and I thought all the actors were excellent, they all performed their character very well. Overall I enjoyed but it left me with many questions.