Is this club? A fever dream? A staged memoir? Emer Dineen’s 0800 Cupid is a fantastic soup of it all. She introduces herself through song and dance as her drag alter ego Cupid – a mask she uses to hide the ever-deepening cracks in her life. She is here in all her glory to tackle the growing epidemic of “lonely hearts”.
But once the “stupid Cupid” act comes off we’re left with Dineen, a struggling artist, longing for an audience and some meaning in life. Everything we’ll see tonight is true – she says – although she wishes it wasn’t. In quick succession, she’s dumped, she loses her dead-end job in a call centre, and she gets diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. She moves into a solo property guardianship populated by a hive of swarming bees; her life in London makes her feel more isolated by the day.
Her answer? Ignore it all. Instead, her nights are spent in the company of strangers, along with booze and drugs to give her a helping hand. Directed by Phillip McMahon, 0800 Cupid is staged as if we’re the audience of a pop star’s headline set. Clothing rails hang with costumes, waiting to be picked up and worn. A band sit on stools, their instruments ready, with Cupid/Dineen as their frontman/woman.
Dineen has performance running through her veins, and Carl Harrison and Isabel Adomakoh Young are the perfect backing dancers. Together, they paint a picture of the highs and lows, ebbs and flows of Dineen’s existence. Harrison takes the role of Dineen’s father, who has dementia. Although we never see his face – he acts with his back to the audience – Dineen’s love for him is palpable.
There are dark points, but the lighting, sound and anthemic music make the stage burst with colour. By the end though, Dineen’s tale starts to lose its fiery trail. The final moment drops unexpectedly with many strings still hanging. This is a wonder of a story, crying out for a full stop.
• At Soho theatre, London, until 26 October
