Graham Dickson: Timber, Review

Underbelly Cowgate | £10.509.50 | 17:30

 

I know it’s difficult, but imagine a world where Hollywood is full of nothing but creepy men. That is the world you are drawn into if you visit Graham Dickson’s solo show at Underbelly. ‘Timber’ is framed as a Netflix documentary, looking back at 2018 to find out why all the women left LA to escape the monsters inhabiting the city.

 

Dickson expertly switches characters to create the ‘talking heads’ style sections that you would expect from a documentary, accompanied with a great use of lighting and sound to differentiate them from the rest of the story. A narration from the female documentary maker sets up Dickson’s different characters as she hunts for ‘the bear’ who’s actions ultimately led to the female exodus. Some of these characters/scenes work better than others, as some play out for slightly longer than required and just drift out rather than finishing at their peak. 

 

One of the characters I never tired of was the awkward talk show host with his ‘live band’ and mandatory side kick. Added to this were some hilarious quick adverts that acted as quickfire sketches intbetween. There’s also some good audience interaction, with a couple of Graham’s characters venturing into the crowd. The show builds up to a surprise ending but unfortunately, if you’ve seen some of Graham’s other work it may not work as well.