High Times and Dirty Monsters
Liverpool Everyman Theatre
High Times and Dirty Monsters is like no show we have seen before. Combining acting, dancing, and beatboxing, this fast paced, episodic production is raw and hard-hitting. A collaboration by Liverpool based 20 Stories High, Graeae Theatre Company, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and LEEDS 2023, this show is the output of workshops that have been held throughout the last year asking what’s good (the high times) and what’s bad (the dirty monsters) about being young in 2023.
The four separate stories that make up “High Times and Dirty Monsters” explore different struggles; the cost of living crisis, grief, homelessness, poverty, mental health issues, substance abuse, education being linked to wealth, ableism, and tokenism to name but a few. They were each delivered with sensitivity, but also with humour.
The first story was Conor’s (Billy Pearson) and detailed his financial struggles as he tried to make sure his inherited dog (named after Gary Barlow and often dressed as Grogu from Star Wars) had food by visiting a pet food bank. The descriptions of the shame felt by Conor, juxtaposed with tales about Gary Barlow humping Conor’s leg, were possibly the slowest of the evening but perfectly introduced the premise of the entire show; serious situations and feelings faced by people every day delivered with comedy to truly make you think.
The second story detailed Sasha (Joséphine-Fransilja Brookman) and her sofa-surfing following a breakdown of her family relationships. This piece closed the first half of the show and was possibly the closest to a “traditional” theatre production in the way that the story was told. Brookman delivered a high energy, almost manic, performance of a character with very apparent emotional scars.
The third story was that of Jamal (Jayden Reid) and the struggles he faces with drugs, depression and wanting to be a good Dad to his daughter Angel. As the opening story for Act II, this piece really seemed to invigorate the audience. Reid’s poetic rap and spoken word is a standout moment within the show.
Finally, and arguably the highlight of the evening, was the story of Katy (Maisy Gordon) who is receiving a university award seemingly because she is in a wheelchair. Gordon’s perfect comedic delivery and descriptions of a very stereotypical Scouse Mum had the audience in stitches.
Throughout each of the story pieces, Chandu Gopalakrishnan plays a variety of characters (both human and animal), whilst using British Sign Language to tell the story. Without a doubt, she is the glue that holds the production together and delivers an absolutely mesmerising performance in every episodic story. To deliver the performances she does whilst also commentating each piece in Sign Language shows the depth of her talent.
Also accompanying each story was a beatbox soundtrack delivered by Grace Savage. The music she was able to make using nothing but her mouth was phenomenal and felt like the perfect accompaniment to the powerful performances on stage. There were a couple of times where the sound felt a little over-powering, however, we were sat just a few seats away from the DJ booth which could have contributed to this.
Throughout the time that the lead actor was telling their story, the remaining cast sat at the back of the stage. In some instances they provided backing vocals, but for the most part they were just watching the performances the same as the audience. We enjoyed this approach as each actor was given the chance to shine, and the approach gave a community feel which felt appropriate given the origin of the play in workshop discussions.
Inclusivity was at the heart of this production. British Sign Language, audio descriptions of characters and sets, and captions on a screen all contributed to ensuring this show could be enjoyed by as many people as possible. The audio descriptions of the changing sets also helped to make the audience feel part of the performance. Each lead actor described how they wanted the set to be, and then all the actors joined in moving pieces around to achieve that description.
20 Stories say you should “expect heavy beats, stunning visuals and full hearts” from this production, and they definitely deliver on all of these claims. This is a thought provoking piece of theatre unlike anything we have watched before. This should be essential viewing for challenging the perceptions of disability, giving voices to people who aren’t always heard, and providing an insight into the commonality of the themes discussed. For all of the High Times, the universal Dirty Monster seems to be the perception that asking for help is something to be ashamed of.
More information on the High Times and Dirty Monsters tour can be found on the 20 Stories High Website.
Our tickets to this production were kindly gifted by The Liverpool Everyman in exchange for an honest review.
Originally posted: