Evaluation: Look, No Palms, Pleasance On-line

Lila Clements has come to the Pleasance Theatre to
share her story with us. There is only one little downside: she doesn’t
bear in mind what occurred. Within the witness field she is to testify on one thing she
has no reminiscence of, and her one-woman present serves as an try to put the items
collectively. Look, No Palms, directed by
Anna Ryder is a gripping solo efficiency of how the actress’ life modified from
at some point to the opposite.

Clements enjoys the eye she is receiving from
the viewers. She fills the house together with her story and vividly paints the image
in our minds as she remembers what occurred on one specific day. She is biking
down Kennington Street, when she will get “swamped” by a white van and nearly turns into
a fatality. Every little thing that occurs within the fifteen minutes earlier than and the 2
hours after is misplaced in her reminiscence as a consequence of a seizure that she suffers on web site.
Hospitals, lawsuits, and nightmares are the results of it; nonetheless, essentially the most
vital half is lacking: what occurred in these two hours and fifteen
minutes?

Look, No Palms is the results of an extended search.
Clements’ garments from the accident are pinned up on the crime wall behind her,
the helmet is dangling in entrance of it, and there’s footage to be discovered on the
web. 24 Hours in A&E has captured her moments of unconsciousness in hospital,
and he or she finds herself frantically watching the footage again and again on the
hunt for one thing: for her aspect of the story. Nevertheless, the present that she
performs on the Pleasance Theatre and recorded on my pc display screen will probably be as
shut as she ever will get to it.

Clements’ present is intelligent and interesting. A motorbike that
is conveniently arrange in the course of the house finds its use in a number of of
the recollections that she shares with us; her story has three layers: recollections
from her childhood, the accident and what occurred after, and naturally the
right here and now the place she invitations us to have a share in her expertise. Along with her
vitality and enthusiasm, she fills each nook of the black field theatre (and my
display screen), as a result of who doesn’t love sharing the story of their misfortune? Particularly
if it has such a very good ending: she doesn’t die.

“Every little thing that occurs now, it’s all additional” is strictly the mentality that she brings to the efficiency. Savouring every second and drawing us in with a detective chase via her personal casefile, and scary recollections of the occasion that modified her life, Look, No Palms makes for a genuinely thrilling piece of theatre.

Look, No Palms is enjoying at stream.theatre till 7 November 2021. For extra data and tickets go to stream.theatre’s web site.

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