Camden Fringe: Where is Ban Ki-Moon?

★★★★

After a devastating personal event, a young man tries to piece together exactly what makes a person happy. Sometimes the woman onstage helps him. Sometimes she does not.

Warning: this show, and the review, mentions suicide, mental illness and depression, and dealing with these things.

Where is Ban Ki-Moon is an emotional rollercoaster of physical theatre, dance, loud music and spoken word that explores dealing with grief, seeking help, and suicide. A simple show performed with no set, two people, a few props and some good tech, the show focuses on energy and performances, and nails them.

Written by Sam Rees, the non linear story is We Talk Of Horses’ second show, and it really is what it claims to be: a passionate, relentlessly honest and brutally energetic examination of grief, suicide and how we talk to each other.

Performed by Rees and Hannah John, their chemistry is fantastic as they bounce between haunted and the ghost, happy loving couple, struggling with depression and everything in between. They dance, they laugh, they scream, they feel everything you could imagine in these situations and more.

It’s also darkly funny - yes, Ban Ki-Moon (or someone pretending to be him) is very much part of the story. Trolling an internet conman becomes therapy for the man, reaching out to a faceless person on the internet for support and comfort, and to escape the reality that his partner is gone.

Lighting and the varied soundtrack of indie rock and roll creates a strong mood of frustration, love, longing, anguish and turmoil. It examines how hard it is to both seek help for mental illness, being the partner of someone with a mental illness and the guilt, hope, helplessness and sadness they feel at watching their partner struggle. The tech in the show is good and well thought and but transitions are quite abrupt (maybe that’s what they’re going for though, as the change in mood across the show is also abrupt and gut-wrenching).

Despite how sad and emotional the show is, it ends on a bittersweet but hopeful note, and really packs an emotional punch. It’s stayed with me for days after the show, and is deeply relatable whether you’ve battled mental illness, know someone who has, or want an honest and slightly painful examination of what it is like to be close to someone who is suffering. It deals with mental illness with respect, hope, hurt, and everything in between, in real, honest and unflinching emotions, which is a testament to Pip Williams’ careful and thoughtful direction. It’s a brave move for the young company, but it has paid off.

There’s only one last performance – Saturday 9th August at 9pm at the Camden People’s Theatre, and I highly recommend you go see it! Tickets and more info.