A show about pals gone wrong, which hits and misses. It fails and wins – just how this unique friendship goes between the protagonists.
Following the lives of friends Megan and Kevin (played by Tash Cowley and Michael Workeye), Paldem explores their experience navigating friendship whilst also embarking on money-making in the lucrative OnlyFans industry. The story becomes a trade-off between technological platform and friendship, as Megan and Kevin compromise their brief love and friendship for money in the entertainment industry. The piece takes the form of a tragic comedy, as the pair self-destruct their own relationship – clearly something which matters so deeply to them. The desperate use of OnlyFans in the modern age by media figures is highlighted in this production. There is a growing familiar trade-off between OnlyFans or passion, sport or lifestyle in the 21st century.
Directed by Zi Alikhan, the show is refreshing in its style, spanning integral issues and staged in a fascinating manner. Personally, I clung to the speakers’ every word, even despite obvious flaws in the writing of this production. The actors move with such care among one another, maintaining focused and careful performances throughout. The choreography and movement with the sofa was pitch-perfect, although the movement sequences which splice the production create a disconnect for the audience and seem unnecessary.
The actors provide stellar performances in Paldem due to this focus which they assume, though at points the piece became generic in tone. Often, it found itself subscribing to the generic ‘modern’ theatre tone – the central characters stubborn and lacking some emotional changes or humanity in places. The character Megan seemed immediately wounded, and thus Tash Cowley remains monotone throughout the production, shouting one-line phrases with urgency. This left me feeling isolated from the humanity of these human beings. Naturalism can be stretched – to a point.
Seated within a darkened auditorium, and with pink Paldem stickers fastened firmly to our phones, the audience looked out onto a film set complete with white photography backdrop, blended with living room. This is the false idealised location in which the play’s action takes place. It’s a clever and opportunistic design, which allows the actors to live in an altered, unhomely state. Complete with Jamie Lloyd-esque projections, the aesthetic really hits the mark and keeps the action focused.
Unfortunately, the writing by David Jonsson makes the play lag behind. At points it is too obvious – stating the title at the end of one scene unnecessarily – while elsewhere it loses track and dives into racial conversations about interracial relationships and the colour ranges of sexual toys, somewhat randomly. Of course, these conversations have a place, but here they diluted the story, weakened its thread and left its ending feeling random and abrupt.
It’s a hit but also a miss, here for Paldem, though a beautifully put together piece which I will remember.
