Tom Clayton
Slappable is all about John Barrett’s journey to who he is today from being at school to being slapped twice on a date – so as you can imagine, it’s been quite some journey for him.
John struggles to fit in with the society around him. Never fully finding a space he feels he belongs in. He opens the show with a tale about the time he received a Black Panther edition of Monopoly and, whether he as a white person has the right to play this game which is all about taking spaces. It’s an apt analogy which sets up the rest of the show well for what’s to come.
John then moves into discussing his schooling and his upbringing. An ADD diagnosis at around 18 years helped to make a lot of the world around him make more sense and for John to truly feel a part of it. This later diagnosis makes it understandable as to why John is maybe still finding his feet as he only starting properly understanding himself at 18 then everyone around him had an 18-year head start.
When John moves into discussing his queerness m you can see him at his most relaxed and comfortable during the whole hour. These are clearly topics that he feels most connected to and this shows in his delivery of this section compared to the rest of the performance. John knows this is who he really is but his place within the queer community he is still finding.
After an unsuccessful opening bit, John does struggle a little to regain our attention and in delivery. He maintains a relatively monotone tone for the majority of the hour which does at time leave you struggling to connect as emotion isn’t always evident. This makes the stories he’s telling lose a bit of their edge.
Self-deprecating humour made me feel more relaxed into the routine. However, these jokes weren’t all that frequent and often left you wanting development on this device.
The slap story we’re all waiting for appears late in the piece and is centred on not being certain about where you belong. It’s something that I think a lot of people struggle with, especially as social media continues to grow, with people being told this is what you should be but if that isn’t who you are where do you go then. It’s a show about finding connection and understanding who you are to better build strong relationships.
Recommended Drink: Something you aren’t going to spill when slapped!
You can catch Slappable until August 24th at Just The Spare Room at Just the Tonic at The Caves from 21:05 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake Mace
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
