This review was originally written for The Public Reviews.
http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-secret-life-of-you-and-me-ovalhouselondon/
Lowri Evans was 30 years old and had nothing to show for it. So she decided to create a show, not necessarily about her life but a collection of notes, photographs, recordings and anecdotes. She wonders what her life could be as she puts on outfits at TK Maxx imagining lives of different people. She browses photo frames and imagines a holiday snap from a romantic getaway in Marrakech. She recollects the time when she called her dad from a phone box on a reverse charge phone call thinking it was free. There is a collection of people’s obscure writings on buses’ window condensations; an imagining of love as a roller coaster and a wire loop game; there is also a collection of sparkly jars.
It is a sixty minutes journey through the scrapbook of Evans’ life with a mix of overhead projections, photography, drawings and a piece of performance art. It is an eclectic assortment of the mundane, whimsical and, on occasion, profound. The scattered elements of the show take a bit of detective work to piece together and the payoff is somewhat disappointing. Evans has a personable presence and relaxed style which sometimes drifts into being overly laid back. The leisurely pace, the variation in quality of the parts and the fragmented nature means it is hard to get into the performance. Some sections are worth pondering longer whilst others can be passed over more quickly. The end result is like being guided into an art exhibition at the wrong pace. It needs to be either a more flowing performance linking the parts together or set out deliberately as individual mood pieces.
Having said that, Evans performance will make you laugh, empathise and leave you with a warm feeling inside. And hopefully, everyone will look at the possibilities in their lives slightly differently afterwards.
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