Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It theatre review: Conspiracies and corruption
Xhloe and Natasha’s latest project soars in its own right, with trademark razor-sharp writing and weighty political food-for-thought
Something monstrous stalks a smalltown Appalachian community in this soapy, schlocky slab of physical theatre. Xhloe (Rice) and Natasha (Roland) are on the hunt for the titular cryptid, gathering evidence from paranoid townsfolk and uncovering something even more dastardly than the spectre of Sasquatch. There’s plenty to get your teeth into.
Rice and Roland construct a multi-layered narrative using whip-smart lyrical rhythm, uncanny characterisation and seamless energy. Manipulating entrails and building the mystery with a megamix of set pieces, every person they inhabit comes fully formed and ready to crank the paranoia to fever pitch. It’s a dizzying achievement. This could’ve been played as a straightforward creature feature, relying on that genre’s B-movie bants for easy gags. But what takes Bigfoot into rarefied air is the slow reveal of another Yeti in the room.
The inclusion of a political subplot, aimed at the continuing climate of administrative bait-and-switch, sharpens the claws of this production and shines a light on the murky world of industrial-scale corruption. Rice and Roland have created a show that fizzes with originality, and the hype roar of this sold-out run is sure to tear through Soho Theatre on its future rampage through London. There’s definitely something in the water.
Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It, Summerhall, until 30 August, 9.10pm; picture: Jenny Forward-Hayter.