During the summer there was a brilliant conversation on my favourite podcast about The Rehearsal, a “docu-comedy” series hosted by an American comedian I hadn’t heard of called Nathan Fielder.
In the series, he goes to extreme lengths to simulate real life scenarios so that his subjects can prepare for moments in their lives they’re worried about or resolve uncertainties about daunting life decisions. Basically, he creates the ultimate rehearsal. The budget seems unlimited and the approach is elaborate to the point of obsessive.
This show is WILD. The first episode perfectly captures the conceit - a trivia geek fears confessing that he’s been lying to his bar trivia teammate, Trisha, about having a masters degree so Fielder recreates in exacting detail the New York bar where the guy plans to confess the truth. An actor is hired to play Trisha (having surreptitiously met her first to learn how to ape her behaviour) and the scenario is rehearsed again and again and again, considering every possible variable he may encounter in reality. Fielder himself is socially awkward, nerdy and funny (“I’ve been told that my personality can make people uncomfortable”) which really underpins the unusual and unconventional tone of the show and I was immediately hooked by the playful nuttiness.
The second episode descends into multi-layered madness when he helps a woman who’s been putting off having kids prepare for motherhood by simulating the experience of raising a child from zero to eighteen. Multiple child actors are hired so she can test every stage of the process but then the show goes off on some pretty wild and unexpected tangents and the episodes that follow are mind-bending.
I don’t want to spoil and it’s almost impossible to truly capture the overall effect of this series but I do think it’s worth a watch. It’s just so imaginative and strange. There are moments when it feels morally problematic - encounters are engineered and manipulated in troubling ways and it can feel very uncomfortable watching the very young actors hired to play the baby/child being immersed in simulated family life without being able to comprehend the reality of the set up. Do seek it out though. Even if you hate it, it will make you think and laugh.
Last weekend I took my daughters to see My Neighbour Totoro, the Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation of the cult Japanese animated film. It’s the hottest ticket in town for those in the know and I didn't want to miss it.
The kids first watched the film last Christmas and quickly became obsessed, fueled further by my husband who a) lived in Japan when he was a student b) speaks actual Japanese and c) brought them back some amazing Totoro swag after a work trip to Tokyo earlier this year.
The show was magical and the story was realised beautifully on stage. Set in an enchanted forest with the orchestra nestled on platforms in the trees, it brought all of the whimsy and surrealism of the film to life. My 6 year old stood up and didn't move for the whole thing - she was totally transfixed.
The story follows two sisters, Mei and Satsuki, and their father who move to the countryside from Tokyo to be near to their mother who is ill in hospital. The girls are left to their own devices while their father goes to work and they escape into a magical woodland world where they befriend a fantastical creature called Totoro.
In the film, the mother’s illness is treated with a light touch - we never find out what’s wrong with her and neither parent is dramatic or hand-wringing about their situation. In the stage adaptation, the mother’s illness is a much more dominant theme, to the show’s detriment. It feels gratuitous in a way that the film never does but doesn’t provoke greater sympathy by doing so. That felt like a shame. The only other criticism came from my husband who pointed out that he finds it weird and a bit icky when adults play small children which I don’t disagree with.
Other than that, this really is an awe-inspiring production. I’m so glad that my kids have embraced this story and others by the legendary Japanese animator, Hayao Miyazaki. I love Disney as much as the next person but the eccentricity and wonder of his stories are such a brilliant foil to the conventionality of most kids’ entertainment.
It runs until 21st January and there are still tickets available. Or if you haven’t seen the film already (on Netflix), it’s well worth a watch, regardless of whether you have kids.
My Neighbour Totoro at The Barbican
See you next time!
Hannah