Review of Yorkshire Festival of Story event, The Political Party by Luca Rutherford on 28th August 2020.
Reviewed by Gill O’Donnell for The Craven Herald and Pioneer/
In these strange times of lockdown’s and pandemics an invitation to a party makes a welcome change, even if it is a virtual party and a political one at that! The event was like many other parties – there were drinking games, dancing, balloons and cringemaking moments when someone gets a bit too detailed in their personal revelations and overshares… But it was also totally unlike any other party because it was a literally a party about politics and how we as individuals respond to the challenge of living in a political world. What it isn’t is an excuse for pushing a certain political view or dogma. Instead it starts with the notion that politics is overwhelming and confusing and generally makes most of us feel inadequate. This then creates an inertia because we feel incapable of understanding it and therefore unable to make a change to anything and so we don’t try because if we don’t try you can’t fail and anyway, it wouldn’t make any difference! Yet despite starting from such a negative point, the whole “party” is curiously uplifting and genuinely funny. Although it has been staged live, the fact that the pandemic meant that this had to be done from Luca’s Newcastle living room to a world-wide audience via modern technology gave it an added dimension and the occasional technical hitch simply added to the chaos and sense of confusion. Although presented in the guise of a party it actually dealt with some very complex ideas. Having set the scene the opening section dealt with the way in which we try to rationalise our responses to issues such as the exploitation involved in capitalism, feminism, racism and drug use by exposing the hypocrisy behind our arguments and resulting in “egging” the holder of such views. “Egging”, but not ridiculing because we are all prone to this kind of dichotomy, we all want to do better and be a “good person” but also we all have an urge to belong and find it hard to stand against a crowd. This ability to expose her own weaknesses so that we can then recognise ourselves in her flaws is the strength of this piece. It never comes across as preaching or criticism but always remains a chance to explore our own feelings and our complex responses to issues. We recognise that we too are flawed and afraid and overwhelmed. There are moments of genuine poignancy in the frenetic dancing with balloons which highlights the physical and emotional exhaustion caused by trying to always keep up and remain part of the “in crowd” and the later admission of the fear of sleeping alone because it emphasises the sense of inadequacy. Yet it is also very funny and messy, just like life and creates an absurd world so similar to a real party with all the trimmings so that for a short while we can hide from reality and not need to face the world outside the windows. Luca Rutherford hold the piece together with a skilful performance which radiates genuine soul searching and honesty. She is open and thoughtful and in her party provides a space to hide and re-evaluate the world and our place in it.
We are always looking for new writers of all ages to contribute to our blog.
