Because, written and performed by Hassan Govia, is a show that delicately navigates one person’s decline into breakdown, after truths and memories once buried deep down threaten to come bubbling up to the surface.
Govia’s acting is impeccable, and he easily enraptures the audience for 50 minutes, exposing the inner turmoil of his character Jade in raw, emotive scenes. His performance is measured, clean, and masterful, leading the audience with breadcrumb after breadcrumb through his tangled internal psyche. The show explores what living truly means, whether we decide to choose our own path and move forward, or lay stagnant and let life pass us by. Exposition was at times lengthy, and the show’s true conflict became tricky to decipher and follow at times. Perhaps in this lies a testament to the intangible nature of mental illness, usually a mystery to the sufferer and those around them, and we are often left wondering what is going unsaid between the lines.
Govia juggles tensions between faith, gender, sexuality, and friendships, introducing each concept with ease as the character before us begins to take shape as we watch. His own switches between characters are performed alongside voice recordings, which at times leads to a somewhat chaotic dynamic. Nevertheless, Govia’s superb handle on acting and expression supplies us with an exploration of feeling with many, many layers.
Because, theSpaceTriplex, until 23 Aug, 3.05pm