YOU CAN DO IT! (Follow Your Dreams) review

Presented by Easy Killer Productions, YOU CAN DO IT! (Follow Your Dreams) is the motivation we all need to go out and achieve big things, including suicide. This extremely dark comedy is not for the faint-hearted, that begins with two very disappointed and frustrated parents whose loser son can't even successfully kill himself.



Written by Simon Patrick Berman, YOU CAN DO IT! has dialled the absurdism to the max. This satirical look at families and perceptions of success kicks off with opening credits introducing us to the family to a warped Brady Bunch theme. We are definitely not about to watch something consisting of three very lovely girls.



Billy can no longer live under the impossible expectations placed on him by his family, particularly with the way they worship the ground - and then some - that daughter Fleur walks on, with a shrine of trophies and medals displaying her successes. Her boyfriend Thad is also the apple of their eye, with Dad more than keen to take on the role of Thad’s daddy. Through the course of a dinner, Berman's script highlights their (and our) obsession with success at any costs and he is not afraid to go to some twisted places.

The performances are highly committed with Emily Farrell and Blair Allen having a ball on stage as the over-the-top narcissistic young couple. Rebecca Howell as the mother brings to mind a Carol Brady'esque nature to her, but one that is probably on the brink of hitting hard liquor and pills to survive the day. Josh Waldhorn shines as the father, desperate to have his children's (and Thad's) wins rub off on him. The four of them work exceptionally well in bringing conviction into their deluded desire for achievement and attention.

Ben Keller plays Billy, the suicidal son, and while he does a good job, the character itself is out of place with the rest of the production. We may view this as a tactic to signify how different and isolated he is, but Billy's behaviours and interactions with his family feel unnatural and there purely to serve as a function rather than be a person. His self-realisation at the end comes across as forced and overly dramatic so there's perhaps an opportunity to consider how to better integrate him into this world that still allows him to be an outsider to it.

YOU CAN DO IT! (Follow Your Dreams) has the potential to have you feeling more determined than ever before to set out for what your heart desires, but it will also have you wondering just how far are you willing to go to not fail.

YOU CAN DO IT! (Follow Your Dreams) was performed at Motley Bahaus between 16 - 18 January.