Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre (Woolloomooloo NSW), Apr 23 – 27, 2024
Playwright: Shay Debney
Director: Julia Robertson
Cast: Shay Debney
Images by Julia Robertson
Theatre review
Shay Debney has lots of questions, but it is more likely that he is finding a way to communicate, than being genuinely inquisitive about so many different things. In his one-person show Do You Mind?, Debney demonstrates a burning desire to connect, so he keeps making queries in hopes of finding a way to bridge the gap. A lot of art is about that need for humans to see one another, and Debney’s show is certainly a worthwhile exploration of that relationship between seeing and being seen.
The concept is meaningful, but as a theatrical conceit it can make Do You Mind? feel somewhat hollow in the moment, as we wrestle with the glaring absence of a conventional narrative. Director Julia Robertson however ensures that the viewing experience is a rich one, with inexhaustibly surprising variations to the ways in which Debney’s simple text is delivered. Commensurately, lights by Ryan McDonald are in constant flux, with a notable warmth that keeps us from ever feeling alienated by the work’s abstract nature.
As performer, Debney is immensely endearing, and with his remarkable skills in physical expression, our attention is easily and enjoyably sustained. There is an irrepressibility to Debney’s presence as an artist. It may not be obvious what he wishes to say, but his need to create is evident. In Do You Mind? he exemplifies the artist at work, with trepidation but without restrictions. There is a freedom in his practice that reveals something about the expansiveness and the unorthodoxy of what we require of artists, and in our interaction with his work, that freedom proves inspiring.
Suzy Goes See 