Siobhán arrives, or, as she puts it, is “chucked off” the airport bus, in central Paris. She has booked a holiday apartment and can barely contain her excitement as she is shown around. The apartment, belonging to Anna, is located in the exalted Latin Quarter and radiates style – wooden floorboards, artsy posters, original artwork and books.
Just what is Siobhán trying to escape from?
The host’s agent meticulously reels off a list of forbidden fruit: access to the locked wardrobe and drawers, her belongings, her food and drink. The strict check-out time of 9am is drummed into her. It’s Friday night and when she goes out, she witnesses Parisiennes living their best lives. She is insecure, under-confident and refers to herself as “frumpy”; she knows instinctively that she does not belong. A bar blares out Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This – what are hers we wonder? She makes a friend, Julia, perhaps another lost soul in this patchwork of bohemian élan.
When she returns to the flat, her trip over before it has really begun, Siobhán’s thoughts return to Anna’s life. As resentment and fantasies gnaw at her, she begins to cosplay as Anna. Siobhán can no longer contain herself and breaks into the wardrobe. She puts on Anna’s stunning red dress and before she knows it, is stepping out in the small hours of Parisienne nightlife. She has a series of encounters but now is emboldened, confident. She brings home a stranger, Yann, who tries to rob her but she thwarts him. When she awakens, it is past her check-out time and Yann has gone.
She is now past caring, inviting Julia and one of the neighbours, Stephanie, in to drink and smoke, observing that she has damaged Anna’s dress. It’s gone 11am, Anna is banging at the bolted door and Stephanie thinks the apartment has caught fire. The demise into chaos almost complete.
The suspicion forms that all may not be what it seems with Siobhán. Is she a fantasist, an unreliable narrator, innately self-destructive… or is there more to it?
This is a most creative piece by Wandering Stories theatre company. Liam McCarthy’s writing is sharp and provides the terrific Sinéad O’Brien with the platform to showcase her storytelling abilities. Her transition from Siobhán into Anna is excellent. We are left to dissect the real from the imaginary, consider Siobhán’s sweet dreams and wonder quite how she got here…
