Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen: Vulnerability And (Or In) Laughter.
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Defying genre, format and sometimes the laws of physics, powerhouse actor Samuel Barnett takes his audience on a wild ride in writer Marcelo Dos Santos’ funny, vulnerable and bawdy Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen. Technically a one-man show, it takes the format of something between a stand-up-special and a stream-of-consciousness confessional, an intimate peek behind the curtain at the craft of comedy and storytelling, and the neurotic personality buried just beneath the flailing performativity.
The Neurotic Clown Meets His Match
The unnamed titular character, “The Comedian”, is a perpetually single, gay, 36-year-old stand-up comedian living in London. As he flits from open-mike to open-mike, he frantically swipes in pursuit of that most elusive catch: A boyfriend. But when a chisel-jawed American walks into his life, a new challenge emerges: is The Comedian capable of getting out of his own way?
No Shame In Being Queer
A show about a British stand-up comedian is always going to rife with social references that aren’t familiar, but Barnett’s physicality and his character’s use of accents blithely dispel any confusion in translating the setting of this modern dating story. So too is it with queer references – the show doesn’t feel the need to explain any of his preferences, slang or behavior (although there is a little thinly veiled reference to “the app” which will help allay any confusion for the less tech-savvy!)
Unlike queer characters of the past, The Comedian isn’t self hating because he’s ashamed, or closeted, or repressed – he’s a proud sexual, crass, anxious mess. Left without sexuality to hate himself for, The Comedian turns his self-loathing on everything else he can choose to dislike himself for: his teeth, his social anxiety, his lack of effortless cool, every aspect of himself picked clean for material.
More Than A One-Man Show
A common hurdle in the one-man show is the challenge of presenting a full cast of characters with just one performer. Frankly, Barnett could play a whole stages’ worth and never break a sweat, but Dos Santos keeps it tidy with a handful of well-defined supporting characters.
The real feat of performance here is the number of characters contained within our protagonist. Barnett skillfully switches between The Comedian’s stage persona, his fumbling attempts at social contact, his playful and blaze hook-up persona and his ‘true’ self, buried deep below the layers of pretense. It’s a joy to watch, and even more so surrounded by an audience that welcomes the nuance.
Comfortable In Discomfort
There is something to be said too for the opportunity to see a show that is this far along in the run – after celebrated runs in Edinburgh and London, Barnett is clearly deeply comfortable in The Comedian’s uncomfortable skin. The format of the show allows him to relish in the audience’s reactions, laughter and applause fully in character, and he fully utilises every inch of the stage, his meagre props of a comedian’s stool, microphone and stand, and his audience’s adoration to to bring The Comedian’s world to life.
No Spoilers Please
This author was lucky enough to interview the star before the show, and on Barnett’s insistence, navigated the editing process without having the show’s twist spoiled. I’d like to take this opportunity to reinforce that this delightful show is best enjoyed with as little context as possible, lest it spoil the joy, or waste even a single laugh!
