Raynar Rogers
On first glance of its marketing material, Deluge seemed to offer a bizarre and comical theatrical experience that would tell a relatable break-up story. Deluge is so much more than that. Is it a play? Is it a combination of the fine arts streamlined into a fringe format or an experimental masterpiece? I don’t know if I can answer either of those questions, but it’s bloody brilliant. The world of the piece is a little unclear at first, it trickles in through a variety of metaphors, a ladder attached to the performer, awkward comedic timing and conversations with the audience.
Gabi Flares is a beast of a performer, funny, multitalented, physically impressive and beaming with expression that seems to come out of her eyes, mouth, fingertips and any part of her that is not currently covered in jam. Within Flares’ impeccable conception, Jam is a symbol of something left behind, the unusual pieces that stay. The writing is both poetic and stacked with comedic wisdom. It is the type of humour that is also meme-able, “The only way out is though” she says as she pushes herself through a ladder. Flares’ comic timing is so on point she can get away with saying “Before you, I was like yo” and never finishing the sentence.
The show is truly whimsical. Flares’ goal is to get to the end of the end but to get there she needs to get to the middle of the middle of the end or maybe it is just the middle of the end but through her journey, she learns that this is also a beginning. And if that’s a confusing thought it is in fact perfectly clear to all of us who walk with her on her journey that have become fluent in her communication. Amongst a jumble of words we learn key advice for getting over someone and understand not only the character’s story but the way this experience feels, vividly and through frank imagery. Story threads are built from the parts that stayed, objects and imagery of water. The way that Flares’ tears and the ex-partner’s jam mixed together to create the world of an emotional torment that seems to never end is creatively masterful. This world is painful, unpredictable, disorganised and without an end in sight. But there is a message in the madness, told to us through a piece of jam representing one centimetre of healthy ovary tissue that with time grows healthy again. We will heal.
The show plays cleverly with the audience’s expectations. It never fails to be funny, but it explores the horror of killing someone in a gruesome way and puts us through the kind of psychosis that is only reserved for people suffering through grief and loss. One of the most memorable moments of the show is when Flares describes filling the gaping holes in her house with jam. I could not help but imagine the countless occasions I too felt there was a hole that could not be filled by anything beyond that one person.
Deluge is overflowing with emotion, beautifully choreographed, incredibly well-written and executed by director Andrea Maciel. While some technical elements seem not totally necessary, the mediated effect works well. There is no irrelevant moment, no part of the work that has been overlooked. It is exciting, dynamic, endlessly creative and genuinely inspirational.
Performance of Deluge have now concluded at Prague Fringe 2026.
Mike Dorey
