FIX: There's a Lot of Work to Do

Fix @ The Underbelly Cowgate

Worklight Theatre's FIX: A tale of the bonds between brains and the bonds within brains is a look into the world of addiction. They focus in the realm of behavioral addictions such as sex and gambling; giving in depth knowledge into the inner workings of what our brains are telling us when we need that obsessive "fix".

The research they present into addiction was fascinating. Especially bringing to light the now culturally widespread addiction to Facebook and FOMO. Addiction isn't just the extremes. We are all addicted to something; our brains need a vice to get what it needs: Dopamine.

FIX is a three actor-musician show in which we get a glimpse into the three sides of addiction: The person who's addicted, the loved one affected by addiction, and the professional tasked with helping both of these groups. I enjoyed the juxtaposition between these three characters, especially Rianna Dearden's Robyn. Who stops to think about the emotional baggage psychiatrists hold after treating a patient? However, Finlay Cormac's Zach was the most robust and realized performance of the show. Cormac deftly weaved in and out of character between sweet Finlay to tragically flawed Zach. Joe Sellman-Leava and Michael Woodman's narrative successfully highlighted the humanity that flowed through the three characters. However, I felt least connected to Fiona Whitelaw's Maggie. Whitelaw's performance felt stunted and unable to fully climb to the heights needed for the emotional stakes this character goes through, especially in the call-girl scene where Maggie must confront the woman her husband has been paying to watch online. Whitelaw goes from 0 to 60 with no build in between, and it makes it quite difficult to connect or empathize with her as a character.

Musical interludes are interwoven throughout, although I feel the songs, on the whole, do nothing to enhance the piece. The show starts with a song about Dopamine, and I have to be honest, it was off-putting. Joe Sellman-Leava and Michael Woodman's lyrics were very rudimentary and felt super cheesy. I thought once the song was done I would never have to hear it again...nope. They sing it two more times within the show. Once as a sing-along with the audience and again at the end as an acapella ballad. Other than Dopamine, the other songs are pretty forgettable. At one point they do a song about the statistics surrounding casinos and gambling in the UK. While the statistics were frightening, the song was rudimentary and just kept repeating the same monotone melodic structure that droned on far too long. I would scrap the songs all together as they do nothing for the interesting facts and research that was included within the lyrics.However, something is to be said about the fact that music gives our brain pleasure, thus producing Dopamine. The music should further drive home the idea of giving our brains pleasure, but the music as it is now brings only the desire for it to stop.

At times this production felt like a verbatim piece, which I enjoyed, as these characters were formed through the deft research. Verbatim musical theatre may be a more appropriate avenue for this show to take if it were to be reworked further. If a more verbatim esthetic could be utilized, the show would be more efficient in presenting the interesting research that has been done into the ever-changing world of addiction.

TWO STARS