Stage Co-Editor Ian C Douglas took a trip to see this slightly strange stage production...
If there was ever a performance that left reviewers grasping for words, this is it. Potatohead is an hour of themed stand-up comedy that dabbles in puppetry, whacky props, costumes, singalongs, audience participation, and filmed clips, all tied together with a sense of the surreal.
Charlotte Potatohead takes us on her journey from allotment to television celebrity. To achieve this, she draws up a contract with the devil. And as always in these Faustian exchanges, a fatal twist awaits her. Along the way, the potato puns, ribald humour and ever-so-slightly uncomfortable insights come thick and fast. Charlotte has a genius for facial expressions and rubbery limbs that would outclass Max Wall. Her non-stop gurning alone has the audience in stitches.
Yes, they definitely loved it. "You’re bloody brilliant," someone shouts from the back seats. An accurate assessment. Here is a low-budget slice of performance art that pushes boundaries, strains inventiveness to nearly bursting point and metaphorically grabs you by the balls from start to end. The kind of alternative theatre that you want to see now so you can say, “Oh, her? I saw her before she went massive.”
A performer with a unique take on everyday life, we hope she goes far. She certainly has the talent for it
The woman in the potato sack is Freddie Hayes, a comedian with a BA in puppetry from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Since graduating she has been performing solo shows around the comedy, festival and cabaret circuit. She is funded by the Arts Council and this is exactly the kind of art I like my tax bucks to support. A performer with a unique take on everyday life, we hope she goes far. She certainly has the talent for it.
Potatohead is directed by SH!T Theatre, who describe themselves on the Nonsuch web page as “(making) politically-engaged performance art using live documentary, song, humour & multimedia. We research, write and perform our own work.” They have won a SH!T load of awards and after Potatohead it is easy to see why. More power to their elbow.
So, for an evening of one-woman comedy, it is hard to think of anything that can better this. Keep an eye out for Freddie Hayes and go and see whatever she does next.
Potatohead played at the Nonsuch Studios from Friday 14 to Saturday 15 October
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