London.

WE HOPE THAT YOU’RE HAPPY (WHY WOULD WE LIE?)
by Tim Cowbury devised by Made in China.

Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill SW11 5TN To 24 March 2012.
Mon-Sat 7.30pm.
Runs: 55min No interval.

TICKETS: 0207 223 2223.
www.bac.org.uk
Review:William Russell 7 March.

Why Indeed Would They Lie?
This is a mad, whacky evening. And if you don’t leave with a smile on your face there is something wrong with you. It opens with Jessica standing on a platform about the same height as she is . She is wearing a black lace petticoat and smiling happily at the audience, waving from time to time and making eye contact. She has a cool box by her side.

On comes Chris, a small man with a shock of untidy yellow hair, also dressed in black. They chat, do dance moves – rather well – she gives him a can of beer, an iced lolly, another can of beer, they chat, they chat to “Them” – us in the audience – seeking information as to where we have been and telling us things about their relationship which they admit may not be true.

They mention great disasters – the obvious ones – and do rather upsetting things with tomato ketchup and flour. It is surreal – the only word for it. It is daft. Above all it is entertaining. I am not sure it means very much other than showing the pair can keep an audience sitting happily watching them playing whatever their games amount to.

But whether it is just a load of cobblers, or has something to say about the human condition is beside the point. It is entertainment. They do dance well and they know how to time a line to perfection. Though Chris does have some trouble with those cans of beer and all those iced lollies really cannot be good for either of them, not to mention the pop corn.

Performers: Jessica Latowicki, Chris Bailey.

2012-03-08 00:58:05