Breaking up with reality imagines that the last 12 months of Covid lockdown is similar to the feelings after a breakup in a long-term relationship where everything we have assumed as normal is no longer there and instead our existence is defined by new boundaries and limited experiences. Nod at the Fox presents this thought as a thirty-minute monologue with the text, music and sound recordings created and read by Eden Harbud. It is an intriguing stream of consciousness, a rambling flow of thoughts reflecting on the impact such new ways of living have on each of us and at times verging on madness driven by the loneliness and isolation of being shut in our own homes.
The Deluxe experience offers the script to read and a short five-minute video of the opening thoughts which hints that this audio-visual version might have been the original intention before settling for a simpler voice over a still picture of an origami rabbit in the grass. The voiceover of Harbud is calm, soothing, in control for the most part and maintains an optimistic tone. It is also realistic about what this is. In his opening thoughts he says this may be “a load of fluff” but he hopes “some will connect” and if not “don’t bother to brush it off”. Well, it is more than fluff, there is a creativity about the soundscape both the sounds we miss like tube trains and crowds laughing and the sounds that dominate our lives like the ping of a message arriving on our phones.
Reality may have gone away for while and each of us reacts to this new situation. Harbud appears to be in dialogue with himself and a piece of paper folded into the shape of a rabbit as he reflects on making a cup of tea and having a shower. But soon he is on to more serious thoughts longing for the green light to embrace as opposed to a safe elbow bump and considering what it would take to trade the latest fifteen minutes of his existence for some exciting new experience.
He remains optimistic that a new reality will soon emerge and that it will be enhanced by the chance to reflect over the recent months to better understand ourselves and so that when that new reality arrives, we can crack on in a new relationship. It’s thought provoking has some good creative touches and promises more to come in the new reality.
Review by Nick Wayne
Rating: ★★★
Seat: Online | Price of Ticket: £6
