‘Me & Robin Hood’ continues the work of Hoipolloi Theatre to move audiences and spur them to be a little kinder and nicer to their fellow human beings.
Welshman Shon Dale-Jones performs alone on stage with no props or scenery and while he remains a pleasant fellow throughout there is anger simmering within about class and the distribution of wealth.
Shon directly addresses the audience and informs them from the get-go that what they are about to be told are stories. He further elaborates about the nature and purposes of stories and how they can’t always be true.
The narrative he weaves also addresses regret and loss and injustice, this is a more confronting show than others from Hoipolloi.
Shon here is dealing with dark emotions and with no fellow performers, no music, no stage effects, he manages to spill forth from himself raw rage and pathos. The hushed silence or relaxed chuckles of the audience are the only other things filling the air besides his solo performance. It is a testament to his talent as a performer that he keeps you engaged as the story twists and turns, and you become not quite sure how to keep up at points.
Near the end pacing becomes an issue and it seems as if Shon is still in search of a fitting resolution for this story. However, like stand-up comedy this type of lone wolf performance is something to marvel at and instead of getting you to laugh, which is hard enough, Shon instead is trying maybe something even harder – to get you to care.
The fact that he succeeds is something very real and he gets you to laugh along the way too.
