Our very own single lady Katie Beswick (@ElfinKate) tells you all about another single lady, Jaye Kearney (@kearneyjaye), who’s performing her thoughts on the solitary life down at The Carriageworks this Friday.
Jaye Kearney, performance maker, is single. Like all single women in the prime of life she knows this is not an entirely unsatisfactory state of affairs. But, like all single women in the prime of life, she has been subjected to very few social, political or cultural messages that make her content to sit back and drink in the pleasure of these fleeting, joyful years. Ever since she was a teeny baby child all the social, political and cultural messages have screamed one thing right in her face: ROMANCE WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY. NO SERIOUSLY; IT WILL. IT’S THE ONLY THING.*
I know this, because I am also a single woman in the prime of life and last night I cried myself to sleep because I finally realised that my possessive, philandering ex-boyfriend is never going to return to England and make me his fairy tale bride. And every other young man I meet is married or repulsive. Or gay. I’m actually not joking; there were real tears. This is how deeply the saccharine sword of convention remains embedded in my psyche. (Also, I’d had rather a lot to drink).
Luckily for me Jaye has decided to produce her own social, political and cultural message about single life using the medium of performance (tbh, it might not be that political; this is all conjecture. I don’t know, I haven’t seen it). Her show, One, asks ‘what about those of us whose lives don’t follow the path of true love? Will we really die alone, eaten by Alsatians?’ (Fortunately, One is a comedy because the real answer to that question is likely to be fairly depressing.) It’s a celebration of the relationship we have with ourselves, the most important, complex – and most frequently overlooked – relationship we’re likely to have in our lives.
“As a child I talked to myself a lot.” Says Jaye, “I developed a vibrant imaginary life. With One I wanted to explore that as an adult. To learn what kind of performance maker I really am. I also wanted to explore the intimate relationship with an audience that a solo performer has. It was all new ground for me. I’ve never made a solo show before. That was the thrill and the danger.”
The result is a gently intimate interactive performance about being alone but not being lonely. It sounds like an entirely delicious way to spend a Friday night. And if you’re lucky there might even be time to hit the tiles once it’s over. Who knows, you might find someone seriously special. They say it happens when you least expect it. If Jaye’s show works it magic, you might even find that special someone is you.
One is created and performed by Jaye Kearney and is on at The Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds on Friday 14 June, 7.45pm. You can buy tickets by clicking here.
*Unless she happened to listen to the Biggie’s Sky’s the Limit, where he acknowledges the inherent fecklessness of the male members of the species and wisely decides to, ‘get my daughter that college plan/so she don’t need no man’. Or to Tupac, who reminded us ladies to, ‘keep our heads up’ with the lyrics: ‘and if he tells you you ain’t nothing don’t believe him/and if he can’t learn to love you you should leave him/’cos sister you don’t need him’. Whoever said gangsta rap was misogynistic clearly wasn’t listening hard enough during the 90s.
Photo by Adam Robinson Photography.