Hide and Seek Theatre certainly didn’t shy away from difficult subject matter in Radha is Looking Good, which expresses the interior thoughts of a severely autistic woman – Radha. The piece explores the private world of Radha, played by Chandi Mistry, and raises awareness about the daily struggle of living with autism.
The piece opens with a physical sequence to fast paced music. Mistry energetically moves about the space, frantically unpacking her suitcase to reveal pyjamas, crisps, cucumber and a knife, which gradually became significant throughout the performance. Repeated images weaved their way in and out of the piece, as well as effective repeated words and phrases which highlighted the importance of routine for Radha.
Gaining access into the mind of a severely autistic person is always going to be a complex issue to approach. It requires delving into the unknown and making assumptions which cannot be verified. Hide and Seek’s decisions were bold ones, whilst remaining sensitive in their approach. One particularly difficult moment for me to watch was Mistry’s portrayal of the breakdown or tantrum of Radha when her carer was late arriving. The frantic movements, flapping, heavy breathing and wide eyes took the audience back to the exterior world of autism.
In the space hung four items of clothing from the ceiling – a beautiful visual aesthetic on the simple set. Mistry animated these clothes to represent other characters in the story. This was jarring for me. It suggested an understanding of complex emotions and subtleties of character, something which would be challenging for a severely autistic person. This break in convention perhaps happened a little too late in the piece to be effective, as there was a loss of connection with Mistry’s interior character she had embodied, and we had warmed to.
The ending of Radha is Looking Good was sad and poignant. This was good - it was truthful. Bold issues were addressed, and much needed awareness for autism was definitely raised in this moving performance.
After a short break Hide and Seek’s second piece The Clock begun. This took the same form of an extended monologue but with a very different subject matter. Gloria Sanders played three generations of women to tell the story, a dark modern fairytale which addresses both childhood fear and old age.
Sanders works hard to physically and vocally alter her performance to differentiate between characters. This transition was clear with only a small turn of the head or shoulder shrug being needed to indicate a change in character. As well as the more naturalistic storytelling there were also some more abstract physical sections which Sanders performed slickly. For example, a particularly effective part was when voice-over instructions from ‘Google’ were played which Sanders creatively responded to.
Projection was used in the performance, displaying black and white shadow puppets to accompany the story being told. These projections did not offer too much dramatically to the piece and I would have been excited to have seen performer and projection merge, breaking down the boundary between the two visual planes.
Overall, Radha is Looking Good/The Clock showcased energetic and engaging performances to tell two very different stories.
