XXXO

There’s a narcissism to XXXO that’s sure to deter some theatregoers. Supported by renowned Belgian company Ontroerend Goed, which has a reputation for making audiences squirm, it's an interesting premise—two girls try to make one another cry on stage—but ultimately failed by its own self-indulgence.

Charlotte and Nathalie like taking pictures of themselves crying in front of their laptops, the screens of which are projected on to the back of the stage. During the show, they use a variety of fictional and non-fictional stimulants to reduce one another to tears. First, it’s the turn of fiction: they re-enact famous film and TV clips, like Jack’s death scene in Titanic, an argument between Carrie and Miranda in Sex and the City and, bewilderingly, a routine from Home and Away.

It’s unexpectedly funny and implicitly, the girls are poking fun at themselves and the ridiculousness of crying at these scenes. But there’s a quick change of tone when they turn to non-fiction, playing distressing YouTube clips of 9/11 calls and a girl dying on camera in Iran. It feels misjudged to place these serious moments so close to the humour that’s come before it, and their gravity only serves to underline the essential artificiality of the experiment being conducted on stage.

The end arrives very quickly too, adding to XXXO’s generally thin feeling. Still, Charlotte and Nathalie are natural performers and with a bit more development—and in a smaller, more intimate venue—this could be a more significant work.