Necessity and determination are the watchwords for Man to Man, an intriguing story about a woman who takes up the identity of her husband following his death to keep his job. Set in Germany shortly before WWII, the play also provides an insight into life under the Nazi regime.Samantha Dodds does an impressive and emotive job of playing Ella Gericke. The moment when she binds her binds her breasts before putting on her husband’s clothes is heart-wrenching, and the way she copes when a girl at work has a crush on her is amusing. Dodds has a captivating presence on stage, and convincingly presents a woman who continues to live as her husband until she doesn’t know who she is anymore. Despite Dodds’ brilliance, however, the storyline isn’t always clear and the narrative core often goes astray amidst less relevant layers of the story.Man to Man is a difficult one to crack on stage. The serious, multi-layered plot is all delivered through monologues, and they can get tiring. Although the efforts made by director John-Paul McGroarty to keep the audience engaged throughout the 75-minute show are obvious, the story does turn into a meandering jumble by the end. The show also never gets around to answering the questions it raises about identity and one’s purpose in life, thus never really reaching its potential.
