I Hope This Means Something review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

I Hope This Means Something is Patrick Livesey's latest solo performance and boy, have they come a long way since their debut solo work, The Boy, George, from all the way back in 2018. Livesey plays a young activist Corinthian whose move to Melbourne for a job with an environmental NGO sets in motion their downward spiral into saving the planet from its biggest threat, climate change.

Livesey delivers a fantastic performance as Corinthian. Their gradual transformation into a zealous climate activist is evident and you can see how their physicality, facial expressions and speech begin to change, begin to be more frenetic and impassioned. Further to this, Livesey takes on the roles of all the other people in Corinthian's life, including their mother, work colleagues and grindr hook ups, and for the most part, they give equally authentic portrayals to these people as they do to Corinthian.

The set design by M*ck McKeague is an accomplished representative of a greenhouse, with numerous plants adorning the stage and large windows running along the back. This plays a dual purpose of signifying the relationship between Corinthian and their mother as well as linking to the greater theme around climate change and the environment. McKeague also serves as costume designer and dresses Corinthian in an outfit consisting of bright red trousers and a yellow striped t-shirt that skilfully ties in with the issues being explored.

Benjamin Nichol expertly finds the poetry and movement in this script and gives Livesey's character the freedom to become more than just their words. He shows a clever differentiation of scenes set in the past, the present and the in- between. However, the social media videos that Corinthian films via a live feed onto the windows is distracting, particularly when there is a lag between what we see Livesey doing on stage and what is projected.

There is an urgency and tension that Livesey brilliantly works towards in this script, and there are moments of suspense that unfold where you genuinely don't know which way things will go. I Hope This Means Something is a passionate story about accountability and bringing in change when it comes to protecting and saving the planet before it is too late.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: Chapel off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St, Prahran
Season: until 13 October | Wed - Sat 7:30pm Sun 5:00pm
Duration: 80 minutes
Tickets: $35 Full | $25 Conc
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Image credit: Jacinta Oaten