Being a pedant I become side-tracked by the use of problematic as a noun, until I discover Urban Dictionary’s definition of Problematic Fave: (Noun) A favorite person (usually a character) who has problematic views and opinions.
Ex: Dean Winchester is my problematic fave, I love him but he’s so sexist. 

Publicity describes My Favourite Problematic as “a show about the unconscious decisions men and women make to submit to a world that is essentially built for men.” The source material is a wide range of stories submitted, by request, to www.myfavouriteproblematic.tumblr.com – which includes more than is included in the 70-minute presentation.

Everything spoken in this performance, then, has been written by someone who experienced something that motivated them to contribute a story; some very brief, others more substantial but each quite potent in its own way. The reported experiences – recreated through phone calls, conversations, monologues or re-enactments – range from amusement /bemusement at the fragility of the male ego, through the inner conflicts wrestled with when encountering unwanted advances, and inter-generation differences in perceptions and values, to the lasting effects of sexual abuse. 

Women get value from realising others share their responses to all-too-common events. Men get the opportunity to hear things not often said in their presence. Everyone gets to hear (in principle) points of view they may or may not align with.

Being a glass-fronted shop site, 17 Tory St (aka 19 Tory St) is a problematic performance space, not least because street noise can intrude. Titty Theatre (sic) solves the presence-of-pillars problem by performing between them in the traverse, on a raised platform. While untrained voices often get lost when actors face away from one side to the other, we do get the bonus of seeing the show’s unfolding content reflected in the faces opposite.

It is clear the telling of the stories connects deeply with different people at different times in different ways, be they empathising, conjuring up the scenario, or debating the whys and wherefores internally.

That said, there could be greater clarity in the tellings. It seems director Ingrid Saker and the performers – Lilli Cornwell-Young, Lizzie Murray, Courtenay Brown, Keagan Carr Franch, Susan Williams and Zoe Joblin – have made a priority of finding physical actions and movement patterns they hope will make it all more theatrical.

As a result, a lot of my attention becomes devoted to decoding what sort of person is telling this story and in what context, which dilutes the impact of it. A lack of discernible structure in the flow of stories makes it all seem quite random, too. (My companion suggests the random transitions may have been purposely designed to de-escalate intense moments and keep the performance dynamic.)  

In many cases, when I compare the source material with the performance of it, reading it delivers its message more strongly. And some – like the ‘auditioning for Shakespeare’ sequence – are simply misrepresented in the dramatisation.

Nevertheless the intra-cast chemistry is strong and, as indicated above, their work proves quite absorbing for many. The applause at the end – not to mention the many people turned away for lack of room – suggests My Favourite Problematic is a welcome addition to the NZ Fringe.

Postscript:
Later in the evening I have occasion to recall an exchange in the film The Theory of Everything, where the wheelchair-ridden Stephen Hawking, in decline from Motor Neuron Disease, is reunited with an old university friend. The friend is surprised Stephen has been able to father children long after he was diagnosed.
“Different system,” Stephen explains. “By-passes the brain.”
“That explains a lot about men,” quips the friend.

Of course this being a consensual relationship, and one where the wife has had to do most of the work, it’s a witty observation. In the context of some of the stories told in My Favourite Problematic, however, it is something all men and women need to heed. Specifically men need to train themselves to re-engage their brains when women say “no” or otherwise indicate they do not want to accept their advances. 

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