Daniel Kitson, Keep, Northern Stage, Newcastle

A full house is presented with a minimal set;

a table,

a chair,

and a lamp illuminating a filing cabinet with numerous drawers

Kitson, in his usual slightly twitchy and awkward fashion, reveals his plan for the evening - a 2 hour show with no interval in which he will share with us the contents of the filing cabinet behind him. He goes on to explain that he conducted a systematic review of the contents of his house, going through each room and cataloguing every item he found. Each item has been written on an individual card and then filed in the cabinet according to the room the item was found in.

We will spend the evening listening to Kitson reading aloud the 20,000 individual cards.

He then offers us a get-out-clause; he will go off stage for a short break allowing us to "leave now if this isn't your idea of a good time, go to the toilet now because if you exit during the performance you will not be readmitted."

After a very long 5 minutes, Kitson re-entered, took out the first drawer from the filing cabinet and began reading aloud;

"A brown plastic plant pot with a plant in it, a brown plastic plant pot, a brown plastic plant pot with a plant in it, a large broom, a small broom..."

You get the picture. 



I begin to think that it is probably a blessing that this didn't turn out to be a date night as planned before my said date became ill. I did however, feel rather concerned that the friend who now joined me may be regretting accepting my offer of a night at the theatre. I genuinely think it is going to be a long and tedious evening. 

As Kitson makes his way through the cards he is quick to discover that there are numerous misplaced items and unexplainable disruptions to his accurate filing system. Inevitably these prompt Kitson to abandon his initial plan and the evening becomes one in which he fumbles through a myriad of seemingly unrelated anecdotes and stories about his failing memory, unreciprocated love and the ups and downs of living alone. 

Over the course of 3 hours (a little longer than expected and by which time I was relieved that I had made use of the facilities before the performance), Kitson takes us on a circular journey, tapping into all manner of emotions, and neatly linking the end of his gig with how it started off.

Call him what you will; comedian, storyteller, artist, performer; he does it all, and he does it all very well.