As a woman living in the #metoo world I can tell you one thing for sure, it’s been tough. I mean it’s always been tough but the last few months have been particularly hard. Whilst the movement has brought a certain level of awareness regarding the problem of sexual harassment and sexual violence towards women, it also exposed women to constant triggers, as the conversation is happening in the media pretty much all the time.And the conversation is of course also happening in theatres. The Bread and Roses Theatre, known for its history of programming a lot of female led work, has a new Artistic Director; Vallenzia Spearpoint, who has directed the final play from the 2016/17 Playwriting Award; THE BUZZ. Whilst the piece poses some thought provoking questions and is aided by a good cast of four actors, it needs further development to fully realise its potential.
Kyla (Sassy Clyde) is in a relationship with a pop star. Josh (Andrew Umerah) is in a relationship with himself. Their white and clinical apartment is as alive as the relationship between them; meaning it’s pretty empty and burnt out. You can barely see the shadows of the people Kyla and Josh once were. The guitar in the corner of their home is a prop untouched for years. Their conversations forced out, mostly driven by Kayla’s desperation to reconnect with her partner. Yet this emptiness and mediocrity is soon questioned as Kayla’s brother Nate (Gabriel Cagan) returns to her life and remind his sister about principles she lost along the way.
There is a lot going on in the premise of THE BUZZ. Female empowerment, human values and artistic ownership of oneself are the main themes of the play. You could say that it is a lot to pack in into a 70 minute piece and I would absolutely agree with you. The writer Lydia Rynne seems to completely skim through the most important and undeveloped parts of the script in order to jump onto the next big reveal. At times THE BUZZ feels like a Scandinavian thriller, you can’t really follow the plot, but one thing is certain; a man has sexually assaulted a woman.
Spearpoint directs her cast with a naturalistic flare and the understanding of the text. Sassy Clyde is both believable and present in her portrayal of Kyla, whilst Andrew Umerah’s childlike take on Josh adds a lot of dynamic to the central relationship. But it is Hannah Duffy as Anon (Nate’s friend) who really lifts Rynne’s word off the page and brings high stakes to the piece with her theatrical presence and ability to completely encompass the world she inhabits.
THE BUZZ is a play which deserves to be developed further as Rynne’s ideas still seem too fragmented to make a strong point or provoke much needed questions. Fame sucks and so does the abuse of women. The fact that women are still mostly lost and fragile in this #meetoo world means that we simply haven’t been allowed to see the light in our future tunnel. THE BUZZ doesn’t give you that light; it only reminds you about what you already know and you’re living through.
