C-o-n-t-a-c-t

“Breathe 1... 2... 3... 4...” rhythmically chants a young woman seated on a Thameside bench. Or rather, she doesn’t chant it, the voice inside her head does.

Conceived and directed by Samuel Sené from an original idea by Gabrielle Jourdain, C-o-n-t-a-c-t is an app-based outdoor promenade show created as a clever way of staging theatre in the time of Covid-19. But while observing social-distancing rules – including how the theme of disconnect resurfaces in the plot – this is really a work about a type of connection that rarely exists even when not observing a one-metre-between-all-strangers rule: hearing someone else’s thoughts.

Experienced by the audience via smartphone headphones, the inner monologue of Sarah (performed by Laura White, voiced by Aoife Kennan) flits from the city’s birdlife, to an uncomfortable bra, to the panic-induced pain in her solar plexus, to her deceased father and back again. It’s interrupted when an unknown man named Raphaël (performed by Max Gold, voiced by Richard Heap) sits down and tries to start a conversation.

Without revealing too much, it’s a little like Frank Capra’s 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life, but for Millennial women with anxiety disorders and a penchant for crepes (no bad thing). The text is the weakest aspect, but the format of the performance – which is aided by stunning views of Tower Bridge and the Thames – makes it a lot of fun to attend. Most of all, the technology really holds up and could be used for other plays. It’s a genuinely exciting and interesting way to experience theatre, during or after a pandemic.

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