KITKAT review
A funny new play about grief.
"When are you going to learn that most things in life are 'we' things?"
It's January 2022. Nick has just lost his Dad whilst Laura's just lost. Have A Break, Have A KitKat is a comedy-drama following a year in the life of two cousins manoeuvring grief for the first time.
Following Switch_MCR's OFFIE Award-Winning The Other Side, Brontë Appleby's debut play brings a compellingly thoughtful and complex tale of friendship, family, and growing up to the arches of 53two.
Review:
Note: I also covered this on AllFM with Ruth O’Reilly. We went into a bit more detail, and that episode should be available on their website
An hour breezes by for any play that makes good use of each minute. KITKAT does this and more, using each second for humour, tension, or quiet reflection.
It’s an immersive piece of theatre, boasting two talented actors and innovative use of the performance space. In the narrative, frequent callbacks to backstory are supported by pre-recorded voice acting.
About that, both characters carry around small speaker systems as they go. These play out flashbacks of grief, funny memories, extra dialogue, or some mix of all three. It adds a lot to the story and gives the characters depth outside of simple exposition. It’s a smart thing, and it makes for immersive viewing.
And the play doesn’t rely on these too heavily. Often it can feel that more tech or more ideas can weigh a script down. That isn’t the case here, it all works seamlessly to make an immersive piece of theatre. From the set changes in the middle of the performance, the efficient use of props, to the sound design, everything flows together to make a coherent - and I’ll say it again - immersive experience. It’s clever, it feels like a living, breathing thing.
Because that’s what this is. As soon as you walk through the doors you are hit with this atmosphere. You step into their world.
KITKAT is a brilliant and offbeat representation of grief, using slang so modern you’d think it was written this morning, but being so polished in its performance you’d think it had been playing theatres for decades. It’s a strange thing, fresh and timeless.
And even if you don’t get the slang, it is used within sentences that provide context, meaning anyone can understand this play easily and still get a laugh from it. That’s clever writing. You know these are young adults in 2020, and you don’t get lost in the story. You can follow it along with ease.
I won’t spoil it, but the way side characters are used to bring together the main characters and anchor the storyline to a coherent narrative is very clever too. I especially liked the phone calls to family, the two cousins being connected by these conversations into a world that genuinely wants them both to be happy.
On top of that, the way KITKAT is written ensures that young and old audiences can not only relate to it, but find a joke in it which resonates with them. Even if you’ve never been through grief, there’s something to take from this play.
And it doesn’t hold your hand. It respects that the audience is smart and can keep up at their own pace. It knows its audience and it plays to them.
Overall it’s a very well written (and well acted) piece of theatre. I would watch it again if the opportunity arose.
Ratings/Extra
Writing:
Really great. As I’ve said above, it’s been written with near molecular precision, offering humour to young and old audiences alike. The humour is never too heavy-handed, and the two characters make for great conversation, both on stage and in our audience’s minds.
Accessibility:
Again, great. The current venue is wheelchair accessible and near to tram and train routes (also wheelchair accessible).
Sound sensitive?
There is some eating during the performance, which might take you out of it if you’re sound sensitive. But it’s a necessary part of the story, not a throwaway addition, so it’s fine. I personally struggle with being near people eating, but the title of the play prepared me for it. Crisps were available to the audience too.
The audio tech was working well when I went too. No feedback, all sounded very smooth. The actors did a great job of managing everything whilst performing.
Conclusion:
Go see it if you can, it was fantastic.
(I wasn’t paid for this review. I just really liked the play)