Melbourne, Melbourne Fringe 2015

The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, Melbourne Fringe 2015

0 Comments 20 September 2015

The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, is Boutique Theatre’s third show this year. Directed by Samantha Cunningham and produced by Emma Caldwell, it is a heartfelt and touching play exploring issues surrounding adoption, mental health, and self-doubt, in a humorous yet sensitive way.

The play is set in the dining room and bedroom of Jennifer Marcos (Tegan Jones), which has been constructed out of cardboard boxes. Jennifer has the intricate mind of a genius, the clever dialogue from writer Rolin Jones is humorous and sassy yet awkward and fearful. The premise of the play is that she never leaves her bedroom, due to her obsessive-compulsive agoraphobia, but she is on a mission to find her biological parents, her curiosity sparked by underlying feelings that her busy, work orientated, highly strung, angry mother doesn’t love her.

The premise of the play is genius itself, quirky and fun. In this world, Jennifer can work for the US government fixing missiles, design a robot clone of herself, all while never leaving her bedroom. There are many laughs to be had but also times when you empathise deeply with the characters and want to cry or jump into the middle of an argument.

Overall, the performances were excellent, with six actors playing twelve characters. Sam Lavery was particularly talented, playing four different characters with great vigour and passion. Each character was weird, intricate and humorous in their own way, from an eccentrically vocal professor to a conservative Mormon seeking sexual pleasure over the internet. The play also incorporates sex and religion into the story line, as Jennifer trades naked pictures of herself in order to get the Morman to hunt down the details of her biological birth mother. This taboo subplot seems to jar a little with Jennifer’s personality, but it is done quite humorously and retains Jennifer’s naivety.

When the play comes to an end, Jennifer is still an agoraphobic, but she has achieved a lot and made a difference in people’s lives. Her robot self is very compassionate and they form a strong bond with each other. Her relationship with her mother builds however is not yet healed and neither is Jennifer, her mother still doesn’t understand her disorder. The ending is somewhat unsatisfying, it seems confused with so much to process. However, overall The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow is a very complex and entertaining play without any dull moments.

 

The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow runs until the 3 October at Brunswick Arts Space 2a Little Breese St.

 

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