If you were expecting WEER to be a romantic romcom, forget it! Any new show from Natalie Palamides, best known for her outrageously bold clowning style, is now a media-worthy attention- grabbing theatrical event. Deservedly so.
I’ve been fascinated by Natalie Palamides ever since I saw the show Laid that won her best newcomer at Edinburgh Fringe back in 2017. I missed out on Nate, reviewed by my colleague Mariana Feijo in 2018 which graduated to Netflix. WEER is a progression on her confrontational style.
Anything Palamides does comes with a social anxiety warning – if you don’t like physical contact, bodily fluids (fake of course) or being talked to in the audience, then don’t go. It’s ‘heavy metal’ comedy – think Alice Cooper biting the head off a chicken on stage: not real and a stunt that I actually did witness close hand when I was working as the press officer at Reading Rock Festival sharing the pit with a chapter of Hells Angels – true story.
Palamides plays him and her in a challenging, confrontational show depicting a three-year relationship. ‘Mark’ is played by one half of her body, ‘Christina’ by the other. The plaid-shirted macho bearded ‘Mark’ begs the glad ragged ‘Christina’ to stay at a New Year’s Eve party in the woods after she accuses him of flirting with other girls. She somehow manages to steal his car keys and leaves. An accident ensues and the show flashes back to recount the stages of their romance to this point. I will leave the rest to your imagination.
Her stagecraft is improvised and chaotic using whatever props and clothing come to hand during the action, leaving her character emotionally exposed and almost naked at one point. Palamides is not deterred by nudity, wetness or lack of audience participation and whilst some of her performance may appear contrived, the fact that she might have ‘lost the plot’ simply adds to the whole white-knuckle ride.
The reactions of an audience full of London arts cognoscenti added to my pleasure especially as I attended this press preview alone without somebody to give a side glance or exchange reactions. I had just as much watching them as I did the show!
Palamides has form in terms of challenging her audiences with representations that go from meet-cute, love, abuse, betrayal and sexual ecstasy. It’s all there whether you like it or not! Palamides dances with herself, snogs herself, animates her dying breaths with talcum powder, improvises rain with a ‘shower’ on stage and ‘casts’ members of the audience to respond to her characters whilst sending up the whole concept of the 1990s romcom cliche. Sleepless in Seattle has nothing on this! Take a waterproof!
WEER is on at the Soho Theatre until Saturday 30th November 2024, booking details here.
Photograph: Jill Petracek
