15 – 16 March
What is fake and what is not? Be it news, art, or sex it can all be faked. And if not totally falsified, then at least counterfeited, and passed off as something else.
Daddy Issues deals with an exploration of Natalia’s life. Only sometimes she isn’t called Natalia, or even Nat, but Kate, Lisa or Sashka, and she isn’t always a young woman in her twenties, but someone with a much younger profile. Natalia, played with great gusto and emotion by writer Anna Krauze is an artist who makes ends meet by working as an online sex worker, talking mainly to much older men who would very much like their ends to meet but must make do with fantasising over the telephone.
Natalia has had some history with men of all ages, and the narrative explores the way that she doesn’t always come out on top. Her ex-boyfriend treated her badly, a former lover, an established artist, passed off her work as his own, and she has a real daddy who has caused significant issues of his own making.
We first meet Nat stretched out on the floor, bright pink spiky hair, cheeky grin and boiler suit, waiting for a punter to ring up and for her to assume whatever persona she thinks will work best.
In this production by the Passing Stranger Theatre company Director Coral Tarran keeps the pace moving with a minimalist set and a sparse musical soundtrack ranging from teenage pop to minimalist trippy Portishead vibes. The paintings and artwork scattered about the place are gradually revealed at just the right moment to shock the audience before they become complacent.
Natalia is not only confrontational when talking about the sexual proclivities of men, but also in her art. She paints direct depictions of intimate female parts; ‘vulvas’, she explains, not ‘vaginas’. They are hidden mysteries that can be revealed to jolt the senses, unlike the male ‘dicks’ which are thrust routinely at her throughout her life.
The piece deals with the battles she endures with the daddies who are in control, who use her voice as well as on occasion her body, and definitely her spirit and art. Oh, and she is Polish as well so well used to being patronised or made aware how far down the pecking order she is.
Krauze is a confident and accomplished performer, at times gyrating playfully while on the phone and fully in control of her sexuality and femininity, while at others she is angry, raging at being dispossessed or driven to sullen cynicism. She also does a nice line in comedy and the play is an excellent vehicle for her versatility. Both performer and character let us know that she is very aware of her place amid the patriarchy.
So, what is real and what is not? In a world where Daddy knows best the narrative lies with those with power. What is without doubt is that Krauze is a talent well worth watching.
★★★★☆ Bryan J Mason 16th March
Photo credit: Sebastian Lizon
