Imaginary Friends

Daniel Bye - Soho Theatre

'Imaginary Friends' is a piece all about the effects of loss. Daniel Bye tells this story with explosive energy... but it isn't quite clear what is going on.

Content warning: This show does touch on some hard topics of grief, death, suicide and the story is very raw.

Daniel Bye has written a clever piece of theatre. However, it's a bit like marmite, you either love it or you aren't the biggest fan. It is a stand-up, story-telling one man set up. It very politically charged and mentions events going on in the world. The show opens with Bye talking the passing of his brother and how it changed his life. He talks about how he speaks to the empty space that the passing of his brother left, and he imagines speaking with his brother, as the show goes on, he imagines other well-known figures that he speaks to. This is the 'imaginary friend' element. The show focuses on the question of what is too far? This explored through Bye listening to the voices in his head and creating situations. Whilst the piece is clever, it is definitely not one for a new theatre go'er and the structure is too scattered. However, you could argue that the grieving process does not have structure and can feel messy. Let's unpack the show!

This one-man show varies in terms of energy and Daniel Bye gives the piece a lot of power. However, there is a lack of an arc in his character, he jumps from 0 to 100 very quickly and it does take you back at times. He is great at keeping the audience involved with the show and being aware of his surroundings. This gives the piece a relaxed tone, maybe too much at times. It is impressive how comfortable Bye is, and he is clearly not afraid of the unexpected. His relaxed tone adds to the autobiographical element, it shows how the story is personal to him and that he is opening up, this makes the audience trust him. Whilst Bye is able to create this connection with the audience it's difficult to understand what is going on at times and some of the jokes don't seem to land. His ability to multi-role is very rushed and transition between characters are not clear. There are times that it isn't clear if he is playing as himself or someone else.

Soho theatre's black box style studio is great for this kind of show and closes the audience into this world that Bye has created. It makes you feel like you are in his mind. The staging is minimal with just a microphone stand and a table with a crisp packet, a chair, water bottle and other empty packaging. Whilst this chair area with packaging gives the idea of being in a hospital, but for the rest of the show the significance is unclear. It would make more sense if there was a mess on the floor rather than a chair, to give the impression of the character's scattered mind. The use of the water bottle makes the show a little too relaxed, it's hard to distinguish is the show is a piece of theatre or stand-up at times.

Whilst this piece is clever, it is hard to follow the writing and the plot. You can connect with Bye, because he is so aware and comfortable with his audience. However, it's hard to create an emotional connection with the character he is playing, the piece is scattered and whilst grief isn't structured; it is just difficult to lock into the show because it's so all over the place. Transitions between scenes and a clearer arc/plot would give the show more power. It just feels like a lot of great ideas crammed into a short one-man show and too many to get a grasp of. Daniel Bye is an intellectual writer; this writing just needs slowing down and made clearer for every theatre go'er. This could be a very powerful piece, considering the topics that are discussed in the piece. With relatability this could be moving.