Disposable Darlings is a bite size play that packs a tragicomic punch

By J Sydney-Leigh

Devised by Cracked Cup Theatre Company, Disposable Darlings tells the story of Glen, a lonely man who forges friendships with his collection of sex dolls. The concept lends itself to hilarious one-sided dialogues between Glen and his inanimate friends, whose very different characters are cleverly indicated by their owner’s reactions to their silent conversational ‘input’. As we delve deeper into Glen’s delusion, the dolls assume their own voices and physically dominate the stage as the puppets of his imagination. An extension of their master’s ego, the dolls reveal his insecurities, desires, and ultimately present the tragic vacuity of a life sustained by a false reality.

Damien Hughes plays Clive with endearing fragility. Wholly submissive to his feisty girlfriend Brooke [Emily Rose], he normalises their relationship by creating lover’s tiffs and instilling in Brooke a jealousy of the other dolls in order to make himself feel attractive. Rose executes the demanding physicality of a doll with head to toe brilliance, and exploits Glen’s adoration for her with hilarious sass. Less adoring of Brooke is Glen’s real-life brother Clive [Lyall Logan], whose role in the play is to voice the confusion of the audience and attack his brother’s bizarre obsession, which has been going on for ‘years’. Logan plays Clive with convincing frustration that simmers towards explosive anger when he discovers the vast extent of Glen’s doll collection.

The dolls include Drake [Matthew Corbett], a new French addition, Rene [Daisy Boyden] and perhaps most shockingly, Clive’s plastic counterpart [James Ferguson] who provides a brilliant reflection on the brothers’ real-life power struggle. The dolls each offer energetic performances, doing credit to the witty script and performing a catchy musical number that further showcases the scope of Glen’s imagination. The audience is swept up in the celebration of Glen’s birthday, until a moment when his imagination is interrupted and the dolls freeze back to physical restriction. The static vignette shocks us back to the almost forgotten reality that these friends aren’t human beings. Sadie [Charlie Lees Massey] makes an important appearance as a real-life blind date, introduced to Glen by Clive to tempt him back to normalcy. When Sadie sees the dolls, her initial incredulousness melts into a heartfelt compassion, delivered beautifully by Lees Massey as she offers an apt metaphor in attempt to understand this unfathomable stranger.

This is a play that explores the lengths to which a man will go to feel accepted. As an adult manifestation of ‘the imaginary friend’, it offers a safe alternative to relying on human beings, in all their inconstancy, to make us happy. Running at a somewhat constricting half an hour, the play would benefit from more time in which to expand on its interesting themes. What happened to Glen that provoked this behaviour? Will the dolls ultimately overthrow their master’s ventriloquism and take control of his imagination? Disposable Darlings offers a unique and intriguing concept that, as a work in progress, promises to be a huge success when unveiled in its entire glory later this year. Watch this space. You won’t want to miss it.

★ ★ ★ ★

Cracked Cup Theatre Company presents ‘Disposable Darlings’

[No longer showing. To be developed and performed in London in 2015.]

For updates on the future projects of Cracked Cup Theatre Company, see their website: http://crackedcuptheatre.wix.com/cctc#!about/c139r

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