Writer: Everleigh Brenner

A long title for a relatively short show, Hoo Hah House’s Codachrome is half DJ set and half, we’re told, autobiographical drama. The concept has its moments, but this story of a toxic relationship needs more character development.

When deejaying at a sad club, Remy is approached by Robert, who demands she teach him how to play the decks. He’s pushy and arrogant; won’t take no for an answer. He calls her “girl”. He’s so repulsive that it’s a surprise that Remy agrees to go on a date with him. Perhaps she’s feeling vulnerable, as only a week before she’d had an abortion.

On their second date, Robert suggests that they play sex games. Hers is the wish to be strangled to the point of passing out, possibly another sign of self-loathing or trauma. His game is darker still, so dark that she tries to extricate herself from the relationship that has only lasted a few days.

He’s already telling her that he loves her, that he’ll make a good husband and that he’ll never hurt her before incoherently relating a violent altercation between him and his ex-wife. He texts her constantly, and these messages, presumably real, are projected on a screen.

A soundtrack of thumping techno accompanies most of the dialogue, and at one point, the audience is invited to stand up and dance while wrapping Remy inside a woollen spiderweb. While this demonstrates Remy’s sense of being trapped, this interactive element only distracts from the story, especially when it seems as if the recording of a police interview is being played over the music.

The two actors – Everleigh Brenner and Maria Cristina Petitti – try their best but can’t disguise the fact that the characters are thinly written. Robert’s menace is only portrayed through shouting, and we need to fully understand why Remy goes back to him.  Although Codachrome is just a snapshot of four nights, we need more on who these damaged people are.

The poetic coda comes out of nowhere and seems to be from a different play, not quite working as an ending. But in a hot room, albeit in a new building that does seem to have working air conditioning everywhere else, the end comes as a relief. It’s a brave play and tackles some very disturbing material, but this hybrid experiment needs some more work.

Runs until 26 July 2025