ALONE TIME (Coronavirus Theatre Club)*****

 

By Cal

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4l55jy6r_Q 

Available until: Unknown

Content warning: There’s no official warning, but this play does include what you might call ‘adult themes’, even though they’re not exclusive to adults.

Alone Time is really sad. In all sorts of ways.

It’s sad because the main character hasn’t had the support he needs from his parents. He was actually planning on moving out now he had a job, but the pandemic came along and the job disappeared. His parents aren’t happy with the person he is and that hurts him. Of course it does.

When Matt Gurr wrote this sensitive, thoughtful and very sad monologue, he probably had no idea of what would happen. The character is trapped by the pandemic and that makes a difficult situation even worse, but he believes it will all be over soon. Certainly by September. This video was uploaded a year ago tomorrow.

The current situation really makes me think about what the character’s life would be like now, a year on. He might still not have a job. He might still be stuck with his parents. He might be okay – he and his parents might have got used to the situation and worked through it. But what if things didn’t get better? What if they got worse? Yes, of course this is just a story, but there must be real people in this exact situation and it’s a very sad and worrying thought.

Director Emma Baggott lets us see what has become the character’s whole world – his bedroom. In many of these plays, we just see someone sitting in front of the camera, talking into it, but seeing the whole bedroom really emphasised the feeling that the character is trapped. In this room. In this life.

Jamie Foulkes performs the monologue brilliantly and movingly. Some of the subject matter could potentially cause a few sniggers and it probably will with some people, but I didn’t feel like that because the character’s sense of loneliness is so powerful. Even in the beginning, before we know the full extent of it, something clearly isn’t right. Of course, he’s already going through lockdown. That’s more than enough reason not to be happy. But lockdown isn’t the main problem. Lockdown is what made the problem worse.

A really powerful and clever monologue.