An uncompromising look at a personal feminist odyssey, Things That Do Not C(o)unt plays the final week of VAULT Festival
“There’s always a stranger
And there’s always vodka”
I was a big fan of No Offence Theatre’s torn apart (dissolution) so the opportunity to catch their new show Things That Do Not C(o)unt in the final week of the VAULT Festival was one I was keen not to pass up. Written and performed by Nastazja Somers and co-created with Bj McNeill, it probes away at some of the key recurring themes that emerged in this festival.
Society’s expectations of women, and its expectations of how young women should deal with their nascent sexuality. Body image and the uneasy relationship that it inculcates with food. But there’s also a deeply personal vein to this show as well. Partly autobiographical in nature, Somers presents and investigates her Polish heritage too, exploring that impact too.
As a devised work and experimental by definition, Things… is vivid from the very beginning as the scent of citrus fills the air, as Somers toys with a knowing sensuality. And as we tumble down a multidisciplinary rabbit-hole of video, pearl necklaces, Polish music, fishguts, photos, cakes, memories…a visceral sense of storytelling still manages to emerge. Plus there’s vodka – na zdrowie!
