Another Someone

PLAY REVIEW: ANOTHER SOMEONE at York Theatre Royal



“A beautiful and deliberate mayhem”; Rash Dash’s Another Someone is a wonderfully uplifting exploration of the nature of happiness. It feels like watching a child's collage being stuck together on stage, layer by layer, as each character explores the feeling of joy in their own way, physically, musically and poetically.

This show is driven by the prolific usage of movement and music. Becky, the whimsical keyboardist narrator, channels a naive Kate Nash with her innocently soft lyrical happiness. Another Someone boasts a very talented cast, with strong singing voices and impressive acrobatic physical pieces. The sheer passion and sensuality conveyed by the dance of the lovers, Jim and Holly, was enthralling and so convincing, although I could not help but feel that some of the earlier movement lacked lightness of foot. 

The main focus of Another Someone is the exploration of what makes each of us happy, and how we express this. Each character takes a different method; Becky's song, Holly's childhood memories, Jim's basic list, and Ellie's dance, which produce, along with the storyline they interrupt, a rather randomly assembled portrait of some of the good things in life. The plot is kept simple; unlikely friends and mismatched lovers discovering the true pleasures of life. The result is far from coherent, but the confusion and rough edges do impart a rather pleasing handcrafted, almost amateurish feel.

Another Someone is a charmingly sweet play, perhaps even a little sickly in places as it attempts to seduce our inner humanity. If we are willing to accept its utilitarian undertones, based on the simplistic premise that we are a species which just wants to be happy, this play becomes an anthology of human joy, illustrating how joy has a different meaning for all of us. Rash Dash pushes us to consider what makes us happy and, hopefully, compels us to act on this.


Reviewed for "A Younger Theatre".