Written and Performed by Panos Kandunias
HOME MCR
Charlie is a thinker, in fact Charlie is an over thinker with time on his hands to get lost in a vortex of thoughts and possibilities. Do we really need a deluge of social media, chat groups and notifications coming at us through our smart phones? Do we really need to see another one person theatre show examining their quarter century angst? Writer/Performer Panos Kandunias sits centre stage on a low stool and sets the bar high for answering these questions amongst others in a mere 60 mins. This ambitious premise may partly account for the rapid fire delivery throughout the production but thankfully Kandunias is an assured and charming performer who keeps his audience thoroughly engaged.
Charlie is planning his 27th birthday party on a Nokia Flip Phone while admitting to not having had a party since his 13th birthday when he had food at Nandos followed by a sleepover. He has a long gone dick of a dad, a neurotic but well meaning Mum, a best friend called Phoebe and a potential new boyfriend called Tate and a demanding job as a corporate assistant. It all sounds pretty fine and perfectly normal yet there are all the signposts leading to a crossroads where Charlie finds himself depressed, lonely and dissatisfied with his life. His rejection of his smartphone is an attempt to self soothe by avoiding screen time watching his friends and acquaintances lead seemingly perfect lives on social media. Charlie is feeling lost and adrift in a world where we text or scroll because it’s less scary than chatting on the phone or God forbid actually meeting in person.
The production is stripped back to literally a bloke and a phone but it’s a highly effective directorial decision as it brings the humanity into sharp focus. Alone on stage Kandunias can dance perfectly to Dua Lipa and be a bitchy, slightly petulant, pretty boy but can equally be vulnerable, lost and scared as he navigates his late Twenties. I bought a Flip Phone neatly and poignantly illustrates many of the issues and life stressors that bring so many people of this age into therapy. Charlie might have ditched his smartphone but he is still just as addicted to every ring and ping of the old phone beside him and what they tell him about his value to himself and the people he cares about. Friendships often change or flatmates move cities, expectations of where we should be in life are nudging our psyche like an incessant notification alert and we may have expected to have found “the one” only to find that we can’t even locate a dating app we want to stay faithful to! This short, bittersweet production neatly sums up quarter century angst and as Charlie’s voice cracks a little as he chats to his Mum about his favourite childhood food, it reminds us all of the importance of real human connection.
Live Art Alive 