Bob's Date

It is Bob’s first date in 2 years. Logic would suggest that if everything goes to plan, Libido will be in action by the end of the evening. However, if nerves manage to subdue confidence and the memory of past experiences come to the fore, the emotion of the whole endeavour might cause the evening to end in utter disaster.Set inside the mind of Bob, Danny Olsson and James Bailey’s production of Jon Shanhanan’s play is a fascinating depiction of our varying egos and different characters fighting against one another inside our mind, when confronted by an important or meaningful event. In this instance it is the matter of spending an evening with an attractive young lady, however the premise could in fact be relevant to almost anything. Seven actors play seven of Bob’s different egos and there is almost a feel of the recent production of “Quadrophenia” about it – where the role of Jimmy is shared by three actors (clearly without the legendary “Who” soundtrack)! What is perhaps most interesting about our seven different characters, and indeed the development of the piece, is the extent to which they gravitate away from the clear individuals that they are displayed as at the start of the piece and begin to merge, form alliances and reject the negative feelings which try to sabotage the positive – Bob is a guy whose glass is clearly half full. By the end, you really feel that “Logic”, “Nerves”, “Bull”, “Libido”, “Confidence”, “Emotion” and “Memory” really are operating as one mind, each connected and yet separated by one another.There is humour too! Kit Stiby Harris’s “Bull” has an air of Rick Mayall about him, while “Nerves’” mock emotional speech backed by the pretentious sounding “I Vow to Thee My Country” is highly amusing. There are however times when you crave the production to delve deeper. It never really confronts the question of “why” our mind thinks like it does, and there is always a slight sense that the directors chose to milk the laughs as opposed to exploring more of the meaning and intrigue behind the piece. I’m not saying that this should have been a scientific study, far from it, but to have explored it’s potential more would have only served to add not detract from the production.Nevertheless, despite these faults and the fact that the staging is somewhat messy at times, the concept of the piece is both intriguing and unique enough that it makes for some very interesting viewing. Lasting just 40 minutes, Bob’s date is event filled, humorous and well worth a few bob.