#THE CODEPENDCY WAS ABSOLUTELY REAL

[gulliesforever]

ok so @gingerandcelery told me about an unshot episode called "Knowledge" which was filmed towards the end of j&a where essentially the premise is amir and jake dissect their relationship dynamics

and they didn't shoot it because it wasn't funny enough

but there's a patreon episode where they read the script, and IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY GROUNDBREAKING IN TERMS OF CONFIRMING THINGS IN WORDS IN REGARDS TO JANDA

for those who don't have the patreon, essentially, amir asks jake a weird quesion because he wants to know more. jake is like "your questions are weird ". and amir is like "i dont have a lot going on for me, so i place my value on sharpening these blurry little images of you line by line pixel by pixel. what scares me if what will happen to me when the picture is complete. i guess'll have to find a new jake to annoy or some shit". and at that, jake starts answering his questions really quickly. and amir's still talking, he's like, "the funny thing about the painting in my mind is that it'll never be sharp enough. i keep getting half the distance closer to the end, but in a way, i'll never arrive at that destination". and jake goes "I know". amir goes, "it's like i know you better than everyone on earth, even your family". jake goes, "i know". AND THEN FUCKING THEN AMIR GOES, "and the best part is whether you like it or not, you've grown reliant on my admiration" and jakes like "... i know". and then it ends on amir asking jake what his second favorite fruit is.

and afterwards, they talk about how they were coming to an end of the show and were probably just trying do a meta commentary on how the character's relationships would never end

SCREAMING SO FUCKING LOUD WHAT THE FUCK IS THISSSS. why is this a top 15 episode for me and it's not even released. im going to THROW UP WHAT THE HELL?! JAKE SAYING I KNOW . Im haunted dear reader. i am haunted.

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

7 and 17 for whichever oc you wish to use

---@lya-dustin

Thank you, queen 💕. Gonna do this for my babygirl, Ella Royce

7: Do they believe in soulmates?

She absolutely does. But also, she definitely thinks "you can totally have more than one & they are not explicitly romantic." Multiple types of soulmates that you are supposed to have. Romantic soulmate, platonic soulmate, we-are-one-person-in-two-bodies-codependcy soulmate. All of them. They're all real & she has each of them.

17: What phrase would a loved one have to say to immediately crush them?

"You're not good enough."

Literally she would never recover from hearing that, it wouldn't just ruin her day it would ruin at least the rest of her week. Inconsolable ugly crying, gripping the sink, staring at herself in the mirror & having a downward spiral type crushed.

[crossedbeams]

Don Juan in Soho was a total blast (all photos but the first credit Helen Maybanks).

David Tennant was wickedly good, sharp humour, excellent physical comedy and timing, never falling into ham territory which, given the on-the-nose/lowbrow humour of some moments, could easily have happened. His monologues were especially impressive considering the blistering speed of some of them and the heavily load of cultuarally relevant references! Adrian Scarborough was a wonderfully conflicted, devastatingly human Stan and their camaraderie and codependcy was sometimes bouyant, sometimes pitiful, and provides a much needed foil to some of the most debauched moments. Their drunken duet is just 👌

Staging was great, lighting fabulous, music well selected (though West End *please*, if you want to have musical numbers, start hiring dancers for the bit parts. If I have to watch one more awkward shimmy I will DIE) and overall just an absolute blast of an evening.

Other great scenes and perfomances from the homeless guy, the “Countess” and Juan senior.

Dancing aside, my only real quibble; Elvira’s part was entirely underwhelming. If you’re going to deconstruct a renaissance morality play for a 21st C audience, to blur the lines between liberty and libertine, you can’t afford a character so one dimensional as she was to represent your conventional “good”. Her monologue felt like a script read and I was as bored by it as Don Juan, which is a shame because a more effective handling would have added another layer to the morally ambiguous, halycon delight that was this show.

So…8/10 on the Rose theatre scale. A damn good show, some stellar acting and a few missed opportunities to subvert the genre.