Review: Unlikely: In a Building with a Broken Lift, Barons Court Theatre

There’s something fun about grabbing a show without much advance knowledge of what to expect. That’s certainly true for Unlikely: In a Building with a Broken Lift, a ticket taken simply because of a free evening and Barons Court Theatre being both a wonderful fringe venue to visit, and a quick trip for me (at least it should be unless the District line is up the spout, making arriving on time a little dicey!) 

‘Fun’ really is the key word for Unlikely, with ‘energy’ coming a very close second. Performing duo Lucy Mynard and Emma Wallace certainly have bucketloads of both as they bounce around the small space, often in amusing slo-mo or rewind. There’s no doubting the effort put into the show, both in terms of design and rehearsal. Even on this first night of its run, the pair work in almost faultless unison – quite the feat for a show that relies so much on physical performance. 

Told almost entirely through mime, Unlikely is the story of two flatmates who should never have shared the same postcode, let alone a front door. Georgia (Mynard) is a goth, with a love of all things dark that comes with the lifestyle, whilst Sam (Wallace) brings a love of bright colours and sweetness. Oh, and there’s a cat, which doesn’t really help their relationship, given Georgia is allergic to moggies. This is a flatshare from hell and is only going to end in disaster.

It’s certainly a collection of fun and extremely well-rehearsed scenes, but they are currently lacking in a strong enough through story to fully bind them all together. Each scene works well, drawing out the talents of the two performers with their mix of strong physical comedy, lip syncing and dance, and it’s all gloriously stupid. A scene where Georgia divides the room into two with a roll of tape sees Sam lip syncing to Queen’s I Want to Break Free as she beats herself against an imaginary wall. It’s cleverly constructed and played out to comic effect: the final payoff when Georgia simply walks right through it, whilst Sam continues to fight against the invisible barrier, is wonderful in its execution. The use of the voiceover to guide both us and them is equally as clever, adding an extra layer of amusement that helps to fill in the gaps left by the use of mime. 

The problem, though, is a lack of clearer plotting. Yes, it is held together with the flatmates from hell idea, but it’s too loose, not quite strong enough to carry the entire show. There develops an over-reliance on each element, at times stretching them out just a little too far to fill the timeslot. This is no truer than when Sam breaks the fourth wall entirely to start arguing about Georgia hogging the limelight. In isolation, it’s a clever little scene, but as part of this piece, maybe slightly unnecessary, distracting from the core. It really is a case of the whole not quite being the sum of its parts, and this needs to be addressed to further develop this show to its full potential. 

There’s absolutely more that could come from this work, but even in its current form, Unlikely is beautifully silly and gloriously funny, a perfect showcase for the writing and performing talents of its two stars. They might want to murder each other on stage, but you suspect there’s a working partnership from heaven that allows them to work so well together.  

Written by Lucy Mynard & Emma Wallace
Directed by Leo Bacica
Produced by DIppy Egg Theatre

Unlikely plays at The Baron’s Court Theatre until Saturday March 21