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A journey of love and heartbreak through flawless lip-syncing to Katy Perry’s greatest hits! Summary
Rating
Excellent
Katherine and Pierre is heightened drag performance with a unique spin on the classic tale of boy meets girl. Meeting at the office, and after some drunken post work drinks, their love story begins…
Performers, Ellena Begley and Bobbie Twaddle, spend the entirety of the show lip syncing for their lives to an audio mashup. As implied by their characters’ names, it’s mostly Katy Perry, whose party, love and heartbreak songs create the perfect soundtrack to this love story. The audio ranges from originals to covers, to iconic soundbites from some of favourite TV shows and viral videos. Their high energy, wild facial expressions and ability to lip sync with precision, allow this simple concept to remain enormously entertaining throughout.
Twaddle and Begley are both talented dancers who allow the storyline to develop through ballet-like performance. The traditional crude jokes that are popular in drag are replaced with equally vulgar and hilarious movements. From elevator encounters to playful Monday morning antics, the performers explore the full spectrum of human relationships, creating an engaging and relatable experience for the audience. They manage to take a classic drag concept and extend it to an entire storyline. They skilfully blend graceful and absurd dance sequences throughout, incorporating humour to allow for something new and exciting to come each step of the love story.
The set is simple, consisting of only two office chairs, but the performers ingeniously transform these into various pieces of furniture, seamlessly integrating them into their dances and using them for set pieces. This inventive use of props becomes a metaphor for the couple’s tumultuous relationship, as they pull each other close and push each other away.
The intricately curated audio is a work of art in itself, with transitions between songs always continuing a beat or motif so the sound is not jarring. The same goes for the sound bites, office noises, well known monologues – including Smithy’s infamous takeaway rant from Gavin and Stacey – which are worked seamlessly into audio, then followed by another Katy Perry hit! The audio landscape allows for an insight into the characters with more than just songs.
TalkSmall, the queer-led theatre company behind Katherine and Pierre, is currently raising funds for an upcoming appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe. Their exceptional talent and creativity deserve to be showcased to a wider audience.
Written and directed by: Ellena Begley and Bobbie Twaddle
Choreography by: Ellena Begley
Design by: Bobbie Twaddle
Lighting Design by: Ellena Begley
Sound Design by: Bobbie Twaddle and Isla Clarke
Katherine & Pierre plays at Bridge House Theatre until 20 May. Further information and bookings can be found here.
