You know how sometimes you stand in front of a mirror and notice all the details on your face: the little bumps on your skin, the pores where your lashes grow from, the red veiny things in your eyes, slightly darkened corners of your lips? “Maybe Later” felt like that mirror. Brought to Adelaide by a Melbourne based theatre company, Commedia dell’ongblack, this show can sometimes be subtle like an ellipsis at the end of a sentence…and sometimes like an exclamation mark - both effects working towards making the reader stop and wonder.
The play follows two characters through a thought provoking yet familiar setting, executed by two astounding artists. The names of the of the characters are never disclosed, but, in my opinion, they were never nameless. There were t times I felt they shared my name, while other times it was someone I knew in front of me.
Delightfully and, at times, annoyingly open to interpretation, “Maybe Later” successfully portrayed the most raw and basic of human nature. A relationship, in which they battle not only with themselves and each other but also a part of themselves that stays in the other. While I did find myself pinching my eyebrows at times, wondering what exactly was happening - as the show progressed a sort of rhythm was set in place and I became immersed. It was as if they pulled in reality from the streets and threw it onto the stage, bare, raw, and with no adornings whatsoever.
The venue itself was cosy with cabaret style seating that involved round tables with up to two or more chairs facing the stage. The electric candle centrepieces added to the aesthetics of a small intimate dinner. The small venue made for an exclusive audience, but the small number did not affect their enthusiastic engagement with the story. There was music, laughter, and some blindingly harsh red lighting as well, but only for a short amount of time, thankfully!
One word that seems to be appearing everywhere on social media these days is ‘relatable’. This is likely because all of us, especially the newer generations, just want to belong and relate to someone. Having said that, ‘relatable’ was the only word that stuck in my mind throughout the entirety of the show. Some lines hit too close to home, while others felt a bit unnecessary as well. However, the greatest thing is everyone will take something completely different from the show, and identify the characters with two completely different names.
The messages I took from “Maybe Later” were: there’s always two sides to the same coin; how you identify more with the perception that is “you” and not your actual self; how much we rely on the outside world to feel valid, and so much more. The ending only left me hungry: hungry for more burnt bread (you’ll know the reference once you watch it).
Special shoutout to the flickering bulb - somehow it felt like a third character that no one talked about.