[Performance Analysis:] BODY OR SOUL, Omnibus Theatre, London.

Body or Soul, co-written by performer Laura Turner (playing Jessie) and director Stephen Gillard and presented by Fury Theatre, tackles some gritty topics, and it does so unbridledly but with feeling.
I was delighted to find that the performance presented the very same character in two separate walks of life — as Jessie (also Turner) and Jessie Bae (Emiy Vickers). The main way that this is understood, apart from through explicit inter-character address, is through costume. The organisation and timing of costume changes throughout are excellent; it feels natural and organic and is not marked or showy.
However, there ought also to be a distinct similitude between characterisations. Currently, the profiles we are offered by Turner and Vickers are completely dissimilar. There is the choice at the beginning of the performance to have the two perform choreographed and specific synchronised movements, and though these could have been much tighter, these really did help to communicate this shared identity. But hereafter, no idiosyncrasies are shared, and we lose this interconnectedness which is extremely important for this performance. We should only be exploring how a person's choices and a change of their context and circumstances can impact their life. To also have discrepancy, variability and dissimilitude between the two subjects thus complicates and dilutes the focus of our study. However, both performers have mastered well speaking shared lines in unison, with the same intonation and with a natural, unrobotic delivery, which is most commendable.
On the topic of characterisation, all performers are clear on their intentions and deliver lines well. There is a mixture of definitions of character profiles, however, with further work on subtlety, nuance and idiosyncrasy in line delivery and/or character profile desirable. Shifts in mood and emotion are also sometimes too extreme or caricatural, which should be regarded carefully. The manner in which Beth's (Stephanie Riley) and Callum's (Simon Payne) movement across the two playing spaces are conceived is appropriate and enjoyable, although I would urge refinement in moments where the characters are responding to each unique Jessie in quick succession. Movements for the Jessies themselves in scenes of inactivity could be better fleshed out as well, with engaging though non-distracting movements and activities conceived.
As for the focus of the written text, there is a significant contrast between the material presented and the expressed line of study. Jessie seems to have given up both her soul (personality, interests, relationships, etc.) and her body (the demand to be physically present in an online space, her image and voice used on social media, etc.); Jessie Bae, on the other hand, seems to have only given up her body, realigning or modifying her soul, not losing it completely. The sex work scenes do have a significantly different energy; they are quirkier, funny, sometimes predatory, and — most importantly — more particularised: we see first-hand what Jessie Bae's client interactions and working context look like, and we share a significant amount of time with her in this space. Conversely, we have only hearsay knowledge of Jessie’s interactions, and so not only do we have limited understanding of what draws her to persist with this job and to be addicted to it, but we are also left to have less empathy and compassion for her, for we can only see how it affects those around her. Jessie ends up boyfriend-less and friendless, stuck and powerless; Jessie Bae ends up empowered and powerful, self-actualising, free of a boyfriend who only suited her previous lifestyle, and with a wonderful friend who shares her perspective wholly. The objective is notably not to glamorise sex work or claim it is ‘100% “right”’, yet the material does work to this effect.
This standard public analysis ends here.
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[Premium Analysis]
For the Creatives Behind this Performance: Additional Notes Are Available on…
Character Profiles: Detailed Analyses Per Actor
Written Text: Organisation and Communication of Moral Perspectives
Written Text: Creating Realistic Dialogue and Consistent Character Voice
Set Arrangements, and Theatrical Properties
Audience Interaction/Encroachment: Positioning of Actors, and Offstage Etiquette
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