‘There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea…’  

A meditation on the concept of interconnectedness?  
Or an unintentional send-up of artistic ego?  

Created by Arlo Gibson and Ash Jones, Non Flower Elements is a wonderful mess, a mix of audience participation, musical, monologue and jacked naked men. The show feels like a brainstorm, a bunch of ideas and set pieces vaguely connected to the theme of interconnectedness (or whatever the hell the show is meant to be about).

Good thing it’s funny. [More] 

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

Signs in the foyer of the Basement Theatre point us to a casting session, where Directors Charlie Au’Charles (Arlo Gibson) and Rumple S Tealskin (Ash Jones) earnestly talk to would-be cast members before assigning them to a role. Both Directors appear to have escaped from the seventies, with their heavy neck-chains, turtle necks and tendency to call everyone ‘darling’, and they seem pleased with the decisions they make.

I arrive a little too late to take part in this casting session, so am assigned the role of ‘audience’ as we enter the Studio space. Tealskin (Jones) is sitting in one corner of the space, appearing to be preparing himself for the task ahead, while a band, A Stanky Wave (Milo Cawthorne, Patrick Kelly and Connor Strati), is playing in another corner, creating a laid back atmosphere.

When the music stops, Tealskin reads us Nhat Hanh’s thoughts on the idea of self (helpfully included in the programme), concluding that “a flower is made only of non-flower elements… if we were to remove all the non-flower elements from the flower, there would be no flower left. A flower cannot be by herself alone. A flower can only inter-be with all of us.”

This meditation clearly sets out the themes of the show, as the connections and influences that create our own and others’ perceptions of ourselves are explored. As the show unfolds, there is something inception-like about the way the actors play clear characters (the Directors), themselves as characters, characters in the play within the play and themselves in real life. Each version of the actor informs the other and this allows the perceptions of each to coalesce in an expanding and evolving exploration of self. 

A neat framework places us all at an audition presided over by the two Directors, and first we are given some information about each of the main characters (‘Arlo’ and ‘Ash’). These introductions wittily play with what we can see of the actors and, from the delighted responses of some of the audience members, appear to be accurate in identifying the real-life foibles of Jones and Gibson.

Once we have digested these character sketches, we are instructed to get up in the space and carry out some exercises to prepare us for the audition. At first there is an air of self-consciousness about some audience members (me included!) but everyone is game and by the end of the section there is a good-natured buzz as we are given increasingly silly things to do. 

During these exercises, Jones disappears and then re-enters as a version of himself, also attending the audition. He is asked to deliver his text, with increasingly silly direction (including some neat audience participation) from Gibson. This generates plenty of laughs, enhanced by the relish that Gibson (as Au’Charles) appears to take in making the experience as humiliating as possible for Jones.

Eventually the exercise is halted and Jones is left alone to deliver a monologue about how he is made to feel by other people. The monologue delivers a real sense of emotional truth, and is engaging and effective because of that. As the monologue comes to an end, the Stage Hand (Rose McGrannachan) hands Jones a microphone, and he breaks into song (accompanied by the accomplished band).

This sequence of incidents then plays out again, with Gibson as an actor version of himself and a ‘real’ self, also directed with relish by Jones’ Tealskin. This section includes some lovely physical work that is very well-executed and enjoyable.

The most engaging aspects of the show for me are those simple and truthful moments such as the monologues that explore the actors’ feelings and preoccupations. There are also some delightful moments of audience interaction, such as being asked to make a connection with someone else in the room and then say something we find beautiful about that person. Moments like these are appealing and engagingly performed. They resonate with me and link powerfully to the theme of inter-being that runs through the show. I would very much like to see more of these.

As the show reaches a conclusion, I am reminded of Glenda Jackson’s view: “Acting is not about dressing up. Acting is about stripping bare.” This show seeks to strip many things bare, from the way that we are ‘made’ or influenced by the perceptions of other people, to the perceptions we have of ourselves. Other things (SPOILER ALERT – human bodies), are also stripped bare before the conclusion of the show. 

Non Flower Elements has a very interesting theme and some innovative ways of exploring that theme, yet I am left feeling there is a lack of clarity about where the focus of the show wants to be. The interactive elements are amusing, while some of the ideas explored in the monologues are sombre and raw, and serious musings sit alongside comedic, almost slapstick, elements. Sometimes that contrast is effective and sometimes it isn’t.

This feels like a work that is still evolving and, as such, has the potential to deliver a challenging meditation on the reasons why “we can’t exist by ourselves alone”. For now, I find the show a little like a curate’s egg: enjoyable and thought-provoking in parts. 

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