It’s tough to know how much of Six Minute Soul Mate to give away. This is mostly because what makes the show memorable is just how uncomfortable and awkward it gets. Nevertheless, this being a review, I’ll have to do my best to tread lightly.

 

Conceived by Sydney arts collective Brown Council, Six Minute Soul Mate is all about intimacy and (more accurately) gut-busting loneliness. The show kind of takes the form of a speed-dating night, with three characters wheeled out in front of the audience, just six minutes each to bear their souls.  Reading that summary back, it all sounds pretty stock standard . But luckily we’re in the hands of Brown Council here, who describe the show as “a barn dance doped up on cocaine” and - though I’ve never done any line dancing with Tony Montana - I’d have to say that’s a pretty accurate explanation.  

  

After waiting for a few minutes on the balcony of the Electric Light with fellow audience members (all wearing name tags), we are greeted by a woman in a giant bear costume. So far so good. She introduces herself, and bids us follow inside the building and into a cramped rectangular room. We squeeze along the perimeter onto thin wooden benches.  

 

The bear quickly leaves and is replaced by the first of the three daters, nervously giggling and eyeing the audience with hungry desperation during her monologue. As each character’s six minutes run out and they are replaced by the next, the show becomes increasingly frantic, increasingly interactive, and increasingly challenging.  

 

At one point, I’m singled out by one of the characters for a barrage of questions. “What’s your name?” she asks. I reply. “What’s your surname?” “That sounds like a famous name, are you famous?” “What kind of movies do you like?”  I continue to play along awkwardly. And it’s this kind of teetering-on-the-edge of creepy that the show has in spades. As things progress past this first room the performances continue to get wilder, more offensive and more out of control, culminating in a brilliant final act that acts as a summary of all that preceded it. 

 

Six Minute Soul Mate is funny at points, but don’t head in expecting a comedy. It’s also uncomfortable, but entertaining; like a David Lynch remake of 50 First Dates. Interesting and at the accessible end of experimental, it’s the kind of show that lingers in your mind afterward like a dying spotlight.