Lucy feels lost. She’s stuck in a dead-end job she doesn’t like and a relationship that doesn’t suit her. She drinks and smokes and gets increasingly depressed with every passing day. When her mother sends her a stuffed panda doll, called Panga, that she used to play with when she was a kid, she doesn’t expect Panga to start talking. But he does. This is a story about the loss of childhood and ambition, as well as the inability to cope with the adult world and its demands.
The script’s core idea – the coming to life of a panda doll from your childhood that will presumably help you recapture the innocence you’ve lost – is not a bad one. After I got over my initial shock at the appearance of a grown up man wearing a panda suit (something that the audience found hilarious, but personally reminded me of Frank from Donnie Darko), I accepted the premise and went along with it. The piece is quite funny and cleverly plays with the relationship between Lucy and Panga. Although at first it appears that Panga simply embodies Lucy’s childhood, as the play progresses traits from the adult Lucy start to become reflected in the panda. So, for example, Panga starts drinking beer, sitting around the house doing nothing, and smoking. This is an interesting way of capturing a sense of corrupted childhood and also brought a lot of laughter from the audience. These images, straddling the amusing and the disturbing, reveal the existence of some serious underlying themes.
Although generally well-written, some aspects of the script become slightly annoying after a while. The constant arguments between Panga and Lucy’s boyfriend drag a bit; Panga’s long and philosophical speeches, although always ending on a funny note, are a little contrived. The acting is good, overall. In particular Beth Godfrey, who plays Lucy, comes across as very believable and likeable and her delivery makes the audience sympathise with her character. All the actors are very committed to their performances, which is engaging for the audience, but the performance starts to drag towards the end.
