Threesome is a zoom coverage starring Claudia Saavedra, Eric Silver and Philip Greenoak. Written by the latter, the story follows 2 housemates looking for someone to fill a spare room in their tenancy… the meta, introduced by Greenoak, tries to make sense of this as each actor is clearly isolated in their own homes due to government guidelines.
The hour-long performance is mildly engaging as we meet Evan, played by Silver, who shares the rather unconventional story of his upbringing in a religious cult full of curses, homophobia and death wishes. These minor warning signs don’t phase ‘Eve’, played by Saavedra, who has the sole intention of ‘getting laid’. Whilst ‘Alex’, played by Greenoak, struggles to find anything relatable with any of Eve’s candidates to fill the spare room.
Alex’s character doesn’t read as genuine, jarring the story, and similarly, Eve’s 2-dimensional stereotype of a character is hard to believe. Evan’s ‘crazy’ backstory lends an element of extra-ordinary that creates a storyline with some shape.
Greenoak’s intermittent narration breaks (some kind of) fourth wall, excusing either his writing or the limitations of zoom as a medium, but it doesn’t quite work in this presentation as the discourse is unclear from the beginning. The context of seeking a third housemate is clear but the physical/internet setup of the zoom presentation leaves us questioning the validity of the scenario.
Saavedra and Greenoak create a warm relationship from the top as they introduce the quirky nuances and light banter. Unfortunately, this doesn’t develop and plateaus with attempts at humour that, perhaps might have landed with an in-person audience but were nonetheless stilted and shallow.
Threesome is available to stream from Brighton Fringe until 27th June. Tickets are on sale here.
