You Were In My Dream Last Night - Adelaide Fringe Review
Image credit: Bobbie Viney
In Bobbie Viney’s debut theatre show, You Were In My Dream Last Night, she explores the blurred boundaries of reality and dreams through the recollection of stories about her time living in Berlin, her travels abroad, the people she’s come across, and the experiences of grief and death.
She engages the audience early on in her theatrics with simple playful games which leave the audience feeling cheerful and intrigued. This is perhaps to loosen up the feels before what is to come.
As she begins sharing the initial details of the stories to come, many questions start to arise about the direction of the performance. It feels somewhat difficult to follow-along each story at their beginning, but as Viney progresses each story later on, you begin to realise that each one is intertwined with each other.
We uncover that there are indeed several stories being intentionally told at once, framed as a long night out in Berlin, whilst shifting between reality and the use of dreamscapes. The shift between each of these states is signalled by a particular sound. However, you do start to question which state that she’s in, as the shifts aren’t necessarily distinct even with the playing of the sound.
The theatrics devised for each story match the overall direction and intensity of the performance, not overly dramatic but consist of swift movements and gradual character development which align with Viney’s themes and emotions that she’s trying to convey.
Viney nails the storytelling direction of the story, gradually leading up to the sudden turn of the mood across the audience as the stories progress to the end of the performance. The themes of grief and heartbreak ramp up heavily towards the climax, leaving you with a string of emotions and relatable experiences and feelings as an audience member (I for one, had a tear in my eye by the end).
As this is a relatively new work which Viney will look to develop further, you’ll get to experience the evolution of the original songs written for the production, which feature comical, confessional, and grief-related lyrics and references.
At its core, Viney has created a new and original show on how our dreams can help us process immense themes and emotions, both in our conscious and unconscious minds. Keep an eye out for further developments from her on this performance.
Rating: ★★★★
Show details: You Were in My Dream Last Night - Adelaide Fringe
