Who Am I? Where did I come from? What was my family like?
We’re all hit by these questions at some point in our lives, hit with that desire to find out more about those bits of life that have faded into half formed memories. It is this desire to find out more about her family, and more about herself that forms the crux of Whitney Richards’ new production I Do I Don’t.
Throughout the hour-long production there are two competing narratives; that of Richards’ parent’s tumultuous relationship told through the recollections of her family, and that of Richards’ performance debut in The Rock Eisteddfod Challenge. So on the one hand you’ve got some emotionally charged moments with Richards giving voice to her parents and siblings recollections, and on the other choreographed over enthusiastic dance moves and 80s “jams”.
The relationship between the two narrative strains isn’t always clear, but it seems to be they’re designed to show how Richards came to be the person she is, and indeed the performer that she is – in other words it’s Richards almost saying to the audience “this is how I got here, this is who I am”. Though I must admit this revelation didn’t come to me initially.
Richards is undoubtedly an engaging and accomplished performer; it’s no easy task bringing a solo show to the stage, but she was compelling throughout, giving voice to her relatives recollections through sequin adorned props and different vocal inflections. As the production reached a surprisingly frantic conclusion, it became a little hard to discern who was who, and which family member was saying what, but for the most part you got a sense of who each of these different players were.
I Do I Don’t is an interesting production; it’s an undoubtedly personal and likely cathartic undertaking for Richards which perhaps isn’t necessarily going to translate into audience satisfaction. But, it’s also proves to be an “entertaining” and thought provoking piece, despite a narrative that at times wasn’t always easy to follow.
I Do I Don’t is performing at the Blue Room Theatre, Perth until September 3rd. For more information and ticketing visit HERE
The reviewer attended the performance on Friday August 19th
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