Bicycle bizarreness

Lucy & Me

Backdock Arts

August 12 – 13

As Brisbane returns to its theatres in the wake of South East Queensland’s most recent lockdown, BackDock Arts feels cosier than usual thanks to additional seating to allow for a socially distanced audience. Yet young German Sphenn (co-writer and performer Nicolas Angelosanto), still manages to take a bicycle ride around as entrance to the whimsical one-man show “Lucy & Me”. The bicycle is the Lucy of the work’s title, a beautiful 1974 Schwinnster in red, and together the two form the unlikely duo upon which the show’s loose narrative is based.

From Sphenn’s suitcase of surprises comes an array of props to assist in his share of the duo’s trips to the park, search for employment and resulting embark upon get-rich-quick schemes. A touch of childlike wonder saturates his storytelling and, as a result, we are all immediately on board with the world of absurdity that ensues around their daily shenanigans, which ultimately test the limits of their friendship. There is an engaging physicality to Angelosanto’s storytelling from the very start, which makes for some entertaining moments, especially in dance and crescendo into one of the strangest exercise routines you are ever likely to see. It is all very funny thanks to Angelosanto’s infectious energy, which is never too over-the-top as to disengage the show’s audience.

Obscure and bizarre as the story of Sphenn and Lucy is, however, there is a clear innocence to the essence of its simplicity Indeed, under the direction of co-writer Jennifer Anne Laycock, this is the type of theatre you don’t have to think too hard about or work too hard at in order to gain some reward. The step into the surreal story is brought to life by an incredibly talented solo performer, clearly relishing the opportunity to showcase the range of his skills in physical theatre, clowning, comic timing and accents, and even some unexpected puppetry (as he uses his knee to create a puppet retelling of how Sphenn and Lucy first met). And while it is certainly quirky, the result is thoroughly enjoyable.