Charlie Kaufman has a lot to answer for. Namely, that the impact of his cult film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind allowed for amnestic brainwashing to become the new “and it was all a dream…”.
Such is the case for Spin Cycle: which bills itself as a mix between the 2004 film and The L Word. But it really should have leaned into the latter not the former, not least because the show is strongest when it homes in on the sticky, opaque nature of sorting through the rights and wrongs of a disintegrating (sapphic) relationship.
There’s plenty of meat to chew over in the show: class solidarity in the queer community, co-dependency at large, and how heteronormativity might creep into masc/femme dynamics.
However, just at the moment that we reach a crescendo, any sense of catharsis is ripped away from the audience by the Get Out Of Writing An End Free card of its protagonists suddenly, inexplicably forgetting one another. As a viewer, this is frustrating: not least because there is never any contextualisation of why this might be the case, (perhaps a misguided attempt at “show, don’t tell”).
One thing about Spin Cycle that doesn’t tax your suspension of disbelief? The chemistry between the leads, which will have you fanning yourself with the stack of flyers you’ll have accumulated while dodging through Bristo Square.
Spin Cycle, Underbelly Bristo Square, until 31 Aug (not 17), 14.25