A WHOLE ****ING CASE OF YOU (Coronavirus Theatre Club)***

 

By Dave 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y3haFGm2Gk

Available until: Unknown

One thing I’ve learned in lockdown is how versatile monologues are. They can be used in almost any situation, in almost any way. But one of the most common monologues are the ones by people who need to get something off their chest.

But even these sorts of monologues are versatile. There are all kinds of different thoughts that buzz around in our heads and there’s not always any way of getting them out.

The character in A Whole ****ing Case of You (not starred out in the actual title) has had something on her mind for a long time which she hasn’t been able to say before. But now, it’s time to say it. Even though the person it’s meant for will probably never hear.

Thoughts can be so complicated. When someone isn’t in your life anymore, you do sometimes forget all their bad points and only remember the good points but sometimes they’re all so mixed up together, you remember everything. That’s what happens in this play. Alex Britt’s hard-hitting script is full of complicated, difficult, painful feelings which need to be said but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. There are also some anecdotes which are almost funny but you’re not quite laughing because of that deep certainty that something is very wrong.

It would probably have been possible to play down the negatives a bit and focus more on the positives. There is a risk with a script like this that you could end up not liking the main character. But director Sepy Baghaei has gone for a far more realistic and honest approach. When you’re in that much pain and you just need to get it out, you’re never going to say the negative stuff really carefully and reluctantly. You’re just going to go for it. It is a risk but it pays off because it makes the character more real.

Actor Jane Deane also isn’t afraid to let her character’s negativity comes out when it suits her. Some of it does make you feel a bit taken aback at first but it’s a good performance and a good script so you keep watching. The raw pain in her voice is so forceful, you can really feel it. This isn’t just surface pain. It’s a deep agony that’s invading every part of her.

A really intense piece of theatre.