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ED2013 4/5 Reviews ED2013 Theatre Reviews
Shake The Dust (Somebody’s Theatre)
By Michael Black | Published on Thursday 15 August 2013
Fortunately ‘Shake the Dust’ is a modest production, as otherwise it might not have felt quite as serious and sensitive. It looks at mental illness through the character Fay, who will not join her own birthday party despite the encouragement of her sister Leah and awkward family friend Ricky. The audience can identify with Leah and Ricky, who want to understand Fay but often struggle to see an explanation for her anxiety. The cleverness of the script is in never letting ‘mental illness’ explain all of her behaviour: it’s part of her but does not define her. Fay’s pessimistic attitude to life resembles that of many young people in today’s society, who feel oppressed rather than inspired by expectations of their success.
theSpace on the Mile, until Aug 17 (not 11), 11.35am, Aug 19-24, 12.35pm.
tw rating 4/5 | [Michael Black]