Is This Thing On? – Hope Theatre, Islington

Writer: Ellie Campbell & Megan Keaveny 
Director: Rosa Hallam Fryer

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Multiple Mediums“

2.5 / 5

Flatmates Liz and Mary are best friends, sharing everything from tales about their awkward sexual experiences to fun nights out together. But their friendship is tested when the lines of ‘shared experience’ are blurred, and the question of integrity and artistic license comes into play.  

Mary (Ellie Campbell) is a poet, while Liz (Megan Keaveny) is a singer – so the pair are frequently performing and collaborating on their work together. So, when Liz takes one of Mary’s experiences and turns into song lyrics, she’s confused as to why borrowing one of her stories has caused such a rift between them. Mary on the other hand, is furious that Liz has stolen her story, passing it off as her own even though she’s never lived the experiences she’s singing about.  

Campbell and Keaveny are strong performers – cramming multiple different mediums into the show to bring the story to life. The variety in the production, feels like a two-person open mic night, with rap, singing, poetry and comedic monologues all in the one show. At times, this can be quite chaotic, quickly jumping between different styles, time frames and conversations, discombobulating the audience slightly with the frequent switches. At other points, it works well to differentiate each scene and showcase their skillsets, so finding the balance is key to ensure the ‘scratch night’ feel of the material is executed with a bit more polish.  

The foundations of the narrative are quite cut and dry, rather than a full storyline, instead a series of small snapshots focused around the lives of the friendship pair, that wouldn’t necessarily standalone without the USP of the varying mediums. Their chemistry and dynamic is humorous and believable, with Campbell and Keaveny very natural in their interactions together. Keaveny is a wonderfully talented musician, and the scenes with her performing her original songs are fantastic. There are some touching moments, that strengthen the audience connection to the characters, as well as some shockingly horrendous (but very funny) stories that will have you wondering what the Hellmann! A unique show, with an interesting approach.  

Runs until 16^th November 2024