Him Indoors **

22^nd November 2018

Blue Elephant Theatre
Rating: 3 Stars

‘This town is full of strange f***ing weirdos!’ 


That one small sentence neatly sums Sonja Doubleday’s fast paced, fifty-minute absurdist comedy. Set within the fictional town of Tittitutar, ‘Him Indoors’ follows a young reporter (played by Tiberiu Chis) on his journey to interview Sally Cradoke  (Doubleday), a woman who has found herself possessed by a miniature man…….Yes you heard that right, possessed by a miniature man.

Confused?

Don’t be, we’ve only just begun.  No matter what your final opinion of Him Indoors is, it is undeniable that Doubleday throws everything but the kitchen sink at her audience. Perverted Hillbilly buskers, nonsensical dancing shopkeepers, innuendo rich kidnapping and an exorcism party are just a few of the delights that are on offer in this mad rag circus of chaos.


To its credit Him Indoors doesn’t let its audience dwell too much on searching for a hidden message. The plays charm lies in its simplicity. Props and set are kept to the bare minimum, allowing us to be captivated by the menagerie of larger than life characters. Doubleday is assisted in bringing these characters to life by Nina Atesh. Alongside Chis’s naturally charming reporter, the two actresses show off their physical comedy skills by juggling nearly a dozen characters between them. Together the three make an engaging and memorable comedic trio. Doubledays vocal and physical contortions are complimented by Atesh’s well placed comedic timing, whilst Chis’s frequently bewildered look of ‘what on earth am I doing here?’ sets a pleasing tone of nonsensical fun.


However it is clear that as a piece Him Indoors is a foundation rather than a completely finished product (a statement which Doubleday freely makes, both in the piece’s program and at the curtain call). Even taking into account opening night nerves certain segments felt a little too rushed, in some instances this was clearly the result of a missed mark or dropped cue, whilst in others it felt as if certain moments were just being thrown away. Whilst there is only so much you can do in under an hour, in some cases the desire to cram so much in left potentially golden moments under-utilized. In one particular instance our hero is on a train heading towards Tittitutar. The effect is created by him simply bouncing in his seat, whilst the other two performers move small models past him. Such a simple style effectively brought the almost full house down on opening night and could have been used much more throughout the performance.


This aside, Him Indoors is rare comedic gem in a sea of bleakness and depression that seems to symbolise a majority of the new writing and fringe theatre of 2018. All it needs is a little bit of polish. Funnily enough there is no better place for this polishing to be done than at the Blue Elephant Theatre, a venue which started off on a ‘wing and a prayer’ according to directors Niamh de Valera and Jo Sadler-Lovett. The venue specialises in bringing new writing to a London audience, whilst giving directors/writers/performers the chance to develop and hone their work.  With this in mind I don’t think we have seen the last of Him Indoors and the inhabitants of Tittitutar. At least I certainly hope not.


Alexander Wright