Review: CURIOUS, Soho Theatre

Fresh off their debut, critically acclaimed and award-winning play, Jasmine Lee Jones brings a new solo show to Soho Theatre's main stage. Jones both writes and performs the piece, which takes a look at a multitude of things; drama school anxiety, queer discovery, lust and sex, along with Black female acting representation in the 18th century. A lot is discussed in this 90-minute story, but very little with nuanced detail - leaving the audience unsatisfied.

We meet Jaz; somebody in their second year at drama school. She's tired of acting, getting upset and annoyed by her classmates and directors, but when she discovers a piece of forgotten history in a local archive, her curiosity is peaked once again. Embarking on a journey to find herself, she encounters challengers from lovers, best friends and wider society members. Set against an eery backdrop of London, we span centuries and areas to discover what it is like to be young, Black and queer.

Anna Himali Howard's direction, in collaboration with the spoken text, offers comedy to the action. There are moments of fun that when embraced create a warm feeling on stage, but overall the staging feels clunky. The correlation between the various design, form and narrative elements is unclear, and these pieces of composition sadly aren't coalescing together. Feeling in moments lacking in imagination, it all feels quite work in progress, which means the play struggles to get off its feet.

Jones is trying to connect to the audience, and does so in moments. However, it's hard to connect to the material, despite there being a natural charisma that Jones oozes on stage. They do seem totally at ease with their storytelling. The audience are listening intently, but the issue is, there isn't much substance in terms of script to get our teeth stuck into. It's difficult to get past the idea that the play feels a few drafts away from being ready for the production. There's a lot of ideas being thrown up for discussion, but there isn't a deeper subtext yet to the writing.

Dramaturgically, it needs a greater clarity in intention. It isn't clear what noise is being added, and to what conversation it's adding to. Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, it feels more time is needed to really hone in on what this play is about, and the best ways to achieve this mission creatively.

curious at Soho Theatre until 16 October

Photo: Jasmine Lee Jones in curious

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