Review: SALTY BRINE: HOW STRANGE IT IS, Soho Theatre
Photo credit: Han Jie
This is the fourth show by Salty Brine that this reviewer has had the pleasure of attending on behalf of the Besties. And every time, the task of writing up the latest Salty offering seems closer to an unfathomable feat. The Living Record Collection takes a great album and a great work of literature, smashing them together with the kintsugi effect of Salty’s own personal stories, musings, philosophy and writing. It’s a daunting feat to presume to summarise the beautiful alchemy of How Strange It Is, the meeting of Neutral Milk Hotel’s psychedelic folk rock album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and its inspiration the diary of Anne Frank - but that is what this reviewer signed up to do.
Ditching their usual glitzy drag for this performance, Salty appears stripped back in Kate Fry’s earth toned knitwear - somehow channelling both 90s indie fashion and Goodnight Mr Tom. From the opening note of The King of Carrot Flowers, Salty is an incandescent ball of energy and has the audience in the palm of his hand.
Salty begins by setting out the premise of the show – we are an audience, in a theatre, watching a show about an album about a girl who died in 1945. This ground-laying blends into a biology lesson, which blends into a presentation on Buddhist theology and at first disparate and strange, you must trust Salty when he asks you to stay with him.
Under Max Reuben’s direction, and with the punctuation of Christopher Bowser’s lighting, Salty delivers high concepts and psychedelic feats of fancy across multiple timelines with confidence, concision and flair.
As much praise deserves to go to Salty’s band under the direction of Nate Weida, who also arranged the music alongside Richard Aufrichtig. Fronted by the epic vocals of Salty, the onstage ensemble recreate Neutral Milk Hotel’s seminal album with a loyalty to its indie rock origins and a little added cabaret spice.
This production is a supernova of history and literature, exploded together into a pure message about love and memory. How Strange It Is is contemplative and profound, at times tear-jerking, but ultimately radiant with joy.
A soaring and breathtakingly beautiful show. If you buy one theatre ticket this year, make sure it says ‘Salty Brine’.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Livvy Perrett
Salty Brine: How Strange It Is plays at London’s Soho Theatre until 19 Sept, with further info here.
