"Always, Sometimes, Maybe" is a show created by Chicago-based Clown, Michele Stine. We open in a room filled with rubbish and rubbish inspired art.
A clown, Lou, appears and starts playing with clap lights, bringing the audience in on the action, too. It's sweet in nature and, let's be honest, if I had clap lights, I'd probably burst all bulbs by playing with them constantly.
We have just joined them at a moment where they are sorting out the good trash from the bad trash. It's very important to know the difference as good trash can make great art whilst bad trash is just, well... trash.
Lou creates props and even other characters from these good trash pieces and embarks on stories of interactions that just don't end very well due to some sort of quirk or poor decision from Lou.
We learn that for Lou, this is something that has become the norm, but that they do everything in their power to try and stop it from happening.
They have been writing down all the rules for life, but it just never seems to help. The rules keep changing.
We witness a heartbreaking monologue that delves into this confusing world for Lou. How the rules of how to behave in society are constantly contradicting each other and that she struggles to keep up with these expectations. How no one seems to help, they just give another silly rule with an expectation for Lou to have already known something like that.
Growing up neurodivergent, I experienced a lot of this in my childhood, as do most of the neurodivergent people I know. The pressures that Lou talks about were very real to me, and I found it to be comforting even as an adult who has worked so hard to adjust with his disability, just to know that someone else felt like me. I wept in empathy for Lou.
We all feel a little alone sometimes, like something might be wrong with us. How comforted would we feel in the world if we knew others felt like us too and that we have nothing to feel shame for.
That's why pieces like this are important.
I would like to discuss some thoughts I had on the piece though. There was a huge section of the play that just simply didn't work. A shadow puppet segment that neither I nor the three other people I came to the show with could see.
It took me out of the show completely and it took a little while to get back into it.
I found Stine to be phenomenal in their puppetry and in their secondary characters, oozing with confidence in every step and word. However, I felt when they were Lou, a little bit of that presence was lost. I would have loved to have see Lou own the space just a little more, even in their vulnerability.
I would like to add a half star on to my usual rating system because I did really love this piece. However, sections need work.
If this show were to come back, I'd be first in line to see it. Stine is a great talent, but I feel the show is still in it's early years.
I still recommend going to this show. You will have a really fun time, and I really would love for the show to grow from audience response and any feedback people have to give.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
I'm looking forward to seeing more from Stine in the future, and I'm looking forward to hearing about everyone's fantastic fringe!
Love,
Tony x
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