It’s always a bit disconcerting when you’re asked
existential questions before a show even begins…
But Am I Dead Yet? is
a show all about existential questions. Namely: what exactly does it mean to be
dead? Turns out, it’s not binary. Death is actually a process, a process that
can be reversed.
We’ve got science to thank for that, be it through advanced technology
or simple CPR. The show is performed by Jon Spooner and Chris Thorpe and has
been developed in collaboration with Dr Andy Lockey, Honorary Secretary of the
Resuscitation Council UK and a man who’s passionate about preventing premature
death. There’s even a bit in the middle where a paramedic gives us a
demonstration on CPR.
But is this meant to be educational or entertaining? In
actuality, it manages to be a bit of both. One minute we’re learning how to
resuscitate someone, the next we’re laughing at dry and sarcastic songs from
Spooner and Thorpe. The majority of the show consists of stories and anecdotes
from the two performers, stories from the past, present and future meant to
highlight our changing relationship with death. A story from the past gruesomely
details the parts of a man’s body collected by two policemen after a suicide in
front of a moving train; from the future we have thought-provoking
science-fiction; and most touchingly of all a story of a small child brought
back from the dead after she falls into an icy pool.
The two men are great storytellers with jolly banter between
them, despite the uncomfortable subject matter that may have you squirming in
your seat. This might be a show about death, but it’s performed with surprising
warmth. That said, at an hour long there’s only so much that can be done here: its
theatrical collage of songs and stories aspires to be more than simply
education, yet its dramatic impact is limited. Instead, Am I Dead Yet? is a thinkpiece on death that’s just enlightening
enough to get your mind racing – even if your pulse isn’t.
3/5
Watch: Am I Dead Yet? runs
at the Soho Theatre until 18th November.
Photo: Richard Davenport
