Reviewer: Christine Stanton
Writer: Claire Gaydon
“Unique Combination“
3 / 5
Britney Spears – the iconic pop princess that shocked the world after her paparazzi induced breakdown that led to her conservatorship. Writer & performer Claire Gaydon was a big Britney fan in the 90s, and now a big advocate against facial recognition technology – hence this intriguing mesh of storylines that put the toxic nature of CCTV under the spotlight.
Claire (Claire Gaydon), Natalie (Yasser Zadeh) and Chloe (Alex Roberts) are BFF’s forever and obsessed with pop music. So, when Claire comes up with the idea to start a girlband, it’s a no brainer, and BabyFaceBland is born. Much of the first half of the show focuses on the band performing their (surprisingly catchy) songs (remastered by Jakwob) alongside the well-rehearsed choreography. It’s a brilliant 90s throwback, with Claire’s butterfly clipped hair and parachute trousers immediately signifying the time. The storyline is light-hearted, nostalgic and funny, the friendship between the trio a wonderfully accurate portrayal of teenage girls – capturing the cringy awkwardness to a tee. Natalie is a chronic people pleaser riddled with shyness and anxiety about her parents divorcing, while Chloe is the catty one, always pouting and desperate to be the lead. Gaydon, Zadeh, Roberts fantastically portray their characters with great comedic timing.
A little under halfway through, Gaydon interjects the storyline with an announcement to the audience about why this show has been put together and how everything fits. An incident that was caught on CCTV got her thinking about privacy and who holds the power when it comes to surveillance. It’s a bit of an abrupt break that halts the built momentum massively, and although an explanation as to where the storyline ends up going is appreciated, it would be better if worked into the storyline a bit more naturally. What follows is a glimpse into the possibilities of the future – what would happen if BabyFaceBland got back together? Or what would happen if they started a facial recognition start up and got a big government contract?
It’s an odd combination with a very thin thread between Britney and CCTV tying the two concepts together. It doesn’t feel as polished as the initial half of the production, instead slightly shoehorned into the initial idea with a bit of a weak link. But kudos to Gaydon for trying to get the message she wanted out there. At one point in the show, it all goes a bit meta – where she reflects on the show she’s made, acknowledging the messy links and the slightly weird approach to her goal but her determination to get the message told. This is to her strength, because the brief nod to the process helps the audience embrace her further as a performer, by understanding the mindset behind it.
Her confidence and passion for her politics really does shine through the whole performance and the slightly strange way of tying the two together actually creates a very memorable show for its sheer uniqueness.
Runs Until 1 June 2024
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