Writer & Director: Keith Saha
For full disclosure, I am reviewing this show as an autistic wheelchair user with some audio processing issues and a very mild visual impairment.
There are clearly some important stories to be shared that are impacting the lives of young people today, High Times and Dirty Monsters aims to bring some of those stories to the forefront in this co-production between Liverpool-based 20 Stories High and the disability-led theatre company Graeae.
Episodic in nature, we are introduced to the cast of six who take their turns telling the stories of four young people, each with different struggles they are facing with the current state of the world. The stories told touch upon themes of disability, poverty, food insecurity, homelessness, mental health, ableism, tokenism, and friendship. However, with such a wide range of topics to cover they are indeed merely touched upon. The stories told are surface level, lacking in depth and they feel recycled. There is nothing fresh or new showcased within the stories. Disabled people have been saying these things and telling their own similar stories for many years. This leaves what promises to be “a radical and hard-hitting show with surprising stories” feeling flat and predictable.
That being said, it is great to see more opportunities for d/Deaf and disabled actors onstage and refreshing for a piece of theatre to centralise, rather than tokenise these stories and actors. The show boasts a strong and diverse cast, Joséphine-Fransilja Brookman (Sasha), Chandu Gopalakrishnan (integrated sign performer/Maya), Maisy Gordon (Katy), Billy Pearson (Conor), Jayden Reid (Jamal), and Grace Savage (music and beatboxing). The cast all give strong performances with special mention to Jayden Reid’s interesting and entrancing physicalisation in Jamal’s story and the high-energy performance and exuberance from Maisy Gordon during Katy’s story. Unfortunately, however, it feels like the cast are not able to work within their full potential due to surface-level stories and lazy direction. The direction by Keith Saha underutilises the cast as a whole spotlighting one actor and integrated sign performer per story with the rest of the cast primarily sitting to the side or at the back of the stage. The cast could be better integrated into each story taking on the smaller roles integral to the 4 core stories. Furthermore, the direction fails to consider the audience experience for those sitting on the sides of the deep thrust staging at the Everyman Theatre.
This feeds into the accessibility of the performance, with those on the sides unable to benefit from the integrated BSL interpretation as it is often blocked by the other actor(s) on stage. This is a real shame as accessibility has clearly been carefully considered and integrated into the show as a feature rather than an afterthought. As a disabled theatregoer, the attempt to feature and improve accessibility is well received and the show is a great example of how easily access can be built into every performance of a show. However, some improvements could be made to High Times and Dirty Monsters in this aspect also. Often the music and beatboxing are louder than seems necessary, however, appreciation must be given for the supply of ear defenders for the duration of the show for those who may not be able to tolerate the volume. Sometimes the volume is so loud that the actors’ lines actually cannot be heard over the music and sound effects leading to a reliance on the show’s captions. Generally, the show’s captioning is accurate and readable, there were a few times they ran behind or stopped due to technical errors which has a big impact on those relying on captions to enjoy the show. Furthermore, some of the font choices, text sizes, and colours used for the captioning are not as accessible as they could be. It feels that at times stylisation and flare are prioritised over accessibility in terms of the captioning. Captions would be better if they were in a clear readable font, in high contrast colours in a large text size and remained consistent. Proper capitalisation would also improve the accessibility of the captions as text in all caps is more difficult to read for those with certain visual impairments.
High Times and Dirty Monsters in its current format and tone feels like it is better suited to a Theatre in Education setting. This is further emphasised by the persistent breaking of the fourth wall to ask the audience how they’re doing in a cheesy tone reminiscent of children’s TV presenters. The individual stories would act as a great starting point for further discussion in schools around the issues faced by today’s youth. Sadly though, when it comes to an adult audience, overall, High Times and Dirty Monsters in its current format misses the mark to make a radical and hard-hitting show that packs a punch.
Reviewed on 13 October 2023 and continues on a UK Tour
