REVIEW: LIPS by Megan Walls, Camden Fringe at Etcetera Theatre 20 – 23 August 2024

“Punchy performances but the characters lack depth” ★★ ½

Lips takes you straight into the club, with loud music to set the scene, unfortunately the show’s first lines struggle to make it out over the tech. This struggle seems to set the tone for the whole piece, each character is lacking depth and the show struggles to form an opinion on what it wants us to feel. A couple of interesting plotlines seem to be placed but they get ignored or dropped. The pacing is jumpy.

To be clear, Lips has promise. Alex (Portrayed by Megan Walls) is punchy, the character seems to drag the audience along with her as she makes mistakes and is swept up into a romance with Joe (played by Josh Crook). Crook portrays Joe well although the character seems to have no goals or intentions in mind, why does he like Alex? Is she an escape from his responsible life as child who feels he has had to raise himself and parent his dad (played by Felix Badcock)? What does his ex-have to with anything?

We see a moment of a slightly darker Joe after he comes home drunk from a night out, but the moment is brushed aside (which is realistic in the present) and not addressed later (this narrative drop is a shame). Badcock does his best to portray Joe’s dad, but the character lacks depth and stays stuck within the sphere of “this is my lot”. I think the show would benefit from casting someone older in the role.

Walls and Crook have great chemistry and there are moments within the piece that are exciting, a couple of scene transitions breathe life into the next scene with great physical storytelling, but this language doesn’t seem to carry through, leaving the following scenes opening in a way that can only be described as lacklustre.

The show has potential, and I understand BXD OUT theatre wanting to leave their audiences feeling conflicted but to accurately do this the writing needs to offer more to its characters and give us more of a story.

LIPS by Megan Walls, Camden Fringe at Etcetera Theatre 20 – 23 August 2024

Presented by BXD OUT Theatre

Directed by Mariam Pope, Maddy Hunter and Lucy Speer

Instagram: @BXDOUT

Cast:

Alex – Megan Walls

Joe – Josh Crook

Dad – Felix Badcock

Reviewer bio:

Heather is an actor, writer, and comedian. Since graduating from Drama school in 2022, she has gone on to perform her own solo play "Deadball" at the Wandsworth Fringe Festival (2023). She is currently in the process of rewriting a new play which made it to the final rounds of a new play call out by Middle Child Theatre.