ASBO BOZO Review
ASBO BOZO had its world premier at London’s Riverside Studios Thursday night.
ASBO BOZO follows an Antisocial Behaviour Officer in a northern town in the 24 hours around her 30th birthday. It’s more than this though, it’s a story about care and responsibility and the emotional toll of supporting people.
Georgina Duncan is both the performer and writer. It’s also co-created by Georgina’s fiancé Colm Gleeson and Will Bishop. Georgina has shared that she wanted to set the play in a northwest town as that is what she is familiar with, having grown up around towns that never recovered post Thatcher, where many industries shut down, and where’s there’s lots of poverty and crime. But she also wanted to show the humour, resilience and pride of the characters who make these communities and those who give their all.
In this one woman play, Georgina was impressive with her range of emotions from elation to devastation. Her comic descriptions of settings easily transport us from the council’s office to a cafe to a bar while the winks to the audience make us feel we know this character well. At 70minutes with no intermission, Georgina kept our attention and we both left feeling we could easily watch more.
Zoë Watson’s movement direction made effective use of the small stage. This is important as the four rows of chairs are level and the team have ensures that most moments are able to be seen by everyone, though on occasion, as at any theatre, you may need to move your head slightly. Isabel Buchanan’s sound design bought laughs with the range of voices heard as our leading lady interacts with everyone from a barista to her boss to an old mate from school.
As a social worker, there were a couple of moments I was exasperated such as when she answered a work call out of hours, or when she made a very clear wrong decision. Indeed they were the first things out of my mouth as I exited the theatre. Having said this, I did relate to not always wanting to tell people your job title and the emotional toll our experiences can have on us. These are stories that need to be told.
ASBO BOZO shone with its comedy in the everyday moments. We laughed as we heard her commentary about the price of coffee, or thoughts racing through her head or drifting off
Co-creator Will’s description of a comedy with a social conscience is completely accurate. We both thoroughly enjoyed the show.
ASBO BOZO has only five other performances. They are Saturday 15th March 2:15pm, Thursday 20th March 7:15pm, Saturday 22nd March 2:15pm, Thursday 27th March 7:15pm and Saturday 29th March 2:15pm.
Address: Riverside Studios, 101 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 9BN
Photos by Jake Bush
Website: https://riversidestudios.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riversidestudioslondon
