Fringe Review: YOU AND ME (AND WHOEVER COMES NEXT), Old Lab at Summerhall
Photo credit: Patch Studio
Uplifting and funny, You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next) is a show about care and how humans rely on one another. The audience meet Kelon, a disabled actor who plays himself, and his most recent personal assistant Dani (Lauren Koster), the mostly-true story of one of his carers of many. Martha Walker plays multiple roles as Kelon’s plethora of past personal assistants and forms one half of the folk-infused score.
At the beginning of the performance, the audience are introduced to the actors and their roles in a quick breaking of the fourth wall before we resume and learn about Kelon’s life. Kelon’s disability means that he is cared for with live-in personal assistants. You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next) by Patch of Blue theatre, is a wholehearted show about how quickly they rotate and how difficult it is to invite new people into your life every few months. Walker is excellent as she compiles their wildly different personalities into a short montage showing how professional and personal lines can blur.
The script is tender, heartbreaking and hilarious. Wonderfully acted by all, the performance gives an eye-opening look into the mechanics of the care system. And more importantly, how care itself is universal and needed in more ways than one. Smart, witty dialogue takes you through Kelon and Dani’s relationship, and how desperate Kelon is to just maintain a personal assistant for longer than a few months. It paints a stark picture of the way that care operates in the UK, both with its pitfalls and highlights and the hanging in the balance of government cuts.
Beautifully accompanied by live music from the talented Walker and Merle Powell-Smith, who play a dizzying amount of instruments, the performance comes together as a wonderfully constructed piece. As well as the storytelling, there are pauses for grounding moments of reality as Kelon talks candidly about his birth, explaining the reason he is disabled. He interjects to explain which bits of the performance are true, and small unscripted asides show how compelling he is both as an actor and offstage.
You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next), is a triumphant show, weaving together stories from Kelon’s life deftly and with charm. It portrays the struggles for carers and the challenges that they can face too, allowing both sides of the picture to tell their story. With vital social importance, this show is not to be missed.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Hannah Goldswain