Paul & Laura Don’t Give a Sh*t (sorry) is full of fun, flamingo stances and feeling at Camden People’s Theatre
“Where would a reviewer sit?”
Rocking into Camden People’s Theatre in their leather jackets and shade to the sound of Rage Against The Machine, it is clear that performers Paul Macauley and Laura Mugridge want us to think that they don’t give a sh*t. It soon becomes clear though that the most important word in the title of their show Paul & Laura Don’t Give a Sh*t (sorry) is the final one, as all their posturing can’t hide the gentle sweetness and profundity that lies at its heart.
The set-up comes down to them desperately craving a five-star review and having concluded that they’re not currently cool enough, have invited a reviewer along to show how cool, sexy and edgy their new show is. This segment is highly amusing as they identify who they think the reviewer is and try subtly, or not so subtly, to win them over (it would take more than lemonade in my case 😉). Then comes the business of being cool, sexy (inner elbow?! woo!) and edgy.
Except Paul and Laura are none of those things. And in the various ways in which they attempt to convince us of any and all of them simply expose the essential hollowness of trying to be anything but yourself. There’s PowerPoint presentations and rock songs that amusingly illuminate their research, there’s dance routines and video montages that hilariously show practice disproving the theory, improv and audience participation padding out the middle.
There’s real heart in the truths they bring to bear through all of their beautifully considered work, the audience participation sections in particular are close to magical. First off in exposing the wonderful weirdness of people’s tattoo choices which could be a show in itself, the communal moment that is then crafted late on sings with such quietly moving potency that you could barely imagine after all the earlier standing like a flamingo (the coolest of birds, obvs).
Paul & Laura Don’t Give a Sh*t (sorry) is full of funniness but also feeling, meaning it really came as a well-timed festive treat through all the warmth of Mugridge and Macaulay’s performances. I’d’ve said make sure you don’t miss it but this was only a two-night run, though if Ashley pulls her finger out and grants that elusive fifth star, maybe the show will reappear, at which point I would definitely heartily recommend going along. As long as the sugar snap peas are back in the right place.
