Camden People’s Theatre, Life With A Lid On & If I Had A Gun... I'd Shoot You!

Review in Issue 10-1 | Spring 1998

The CPT company steal the show in the first part of this double bill with Life With The Lid On, a meditation on life, love and personal space. Four social misfits clad in an array of shell suits, nylon flares and macs are completely self absorbed. One tries, and continually fails, to find just the right place for his yucca plant; whilst another munches contentedly on dry crackers from a tin. When the four are thrown together, they hopelessly attempt to communicate physically with disastrous results. It's a simple yet subtle piece, and as an experiment in collaboration between performers, writer and director is certainly a success. The characters, although recognisably ‘comic types’, are too well observed to become caricatures, and the direction is tight and focused. When the four characters are reconciled over the task of changing a light bulb, it's genuinely poignant and when they inevitably fall apart again, we see the frustration of being misunderstood.

An enjoyable evening was rounded off nicely with If I had a gun... I'd Shoot You!, written and performed by Chris Cresswell. A cabaret of comedy, circus, and puppetry it tells the story of a petrol pump attendant's quest for love. The narrative itself is a bit predictable, the fun came with Cresswell's skill in performing it. This double bill was an enjoyable end to Camden People's Theatre's Sprint Festival of visual and physical theatre.

Presenting Festival
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. Feb 1998

This article in the magazine

Issue 10-1
p. 27