Shotgunned, which is written and directed by Matt Anderson, is an exploration of the cyclic nature of romantic relationships. The show revolves around Dylan and Roz and their relationship through the highs and lows. Using flashbacks, their relationship is shown through snippets in their lives rather than a chronological story, which makes for a rather interesting watch.
Bradley Follen as Dylan and Liv Bradley as Roz (Rosalind) are a wonderful pair and shine brightly in their roles. Follen's nervous and awkward Dylan beautifully balances Bradley's cool and pragmatic Roz, creating a charming and lovable couple in which the audience finds themself rooting for both characters and their relationship. Follen brings warmth and naivety to Dylan as a hopeful dreamer and becomes a rather endearing character. Bradley contrasts this with a weary, yet more sensible Roz, whose grounded nature acts as an axis for the couple.
The set is a simple set up with a few black cubes for the actors to use as furniture. The lighting design primarily uses a blackout which serves as a distinction between the scenes. There is a random club scene thrown into the show, which has fun blue and red flashing lights, yet this does seem misplaced in the show.
The writing is very clever and clear in what it sets out to be. Rather than focusing on the slow demise of their relationship that the show begins with, the show chooses instead to focus on the heart of their relationship. The characters are shown to grow and change together, through a series of disjointed but sweet highlights, flickering between past and present. Whilst this means there isn't a particular emotional thread to follow, nor chronological story, the unrelated contained sections make for a fantastic watching experience.
The relationship itself is written and performed with such conviction, it feels as though Anderson has combined real instances from numerous relationships, between the smaller moments of sniping at each other's habits, to the more drastic and hard hitting situations that threaten the relationship. Both characters have been written to be imperfect yet with good intentions, and thus, allows the audience to relate and connect with them more.
Shotgunned is a delightful and fun show which is equal parts devastating and joyous, and is a truly top quality gem of a show. Shotgunned will be performing at an array of different theatres - for more information and tickets, you can follow the link here.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
AD | gifted tickets in return for an honest review | photography by Joe Cobb
留言