Although a sharply original play, Picking (written and performed by Amelia Slater) pays tribute to trailblazing flawed heroines like Fleabag and Bridget Jones. Indeed, the play opens with the central character, Catherine, sunk in self-pity, the worse for drink and miming to a sad song whilst wearing pyjamas.
Director Selina Helliwell sets a deceptively boisterous opening with a ladette-ish Catherine chatting about comparing lady parts with her flatmate and complaining about manspreading. Even when the storyline becomes more complex, Catherine’s misadventures never lose the comic undertone. Picking is a comedy-drama, definitely not a tragedy.
As a child, Catherine used to pick her socks apart, pulling at loose treads until she unravelled the garment. In adulthood, she applies the same destructive technique to her relationships and her lifestyle, anxiously overanalysing every event and lacerating herself for perceived failings. Google and the NHS Helpline are compulsive reference points for Catherine rather than handy guides. With a boyfriend who is not picking up on her hints as to how she would like the relationship to develop, Catherine accepts a date with someone she already regards as clingy, with disastrous results.
Amelia Slater’s script alternates Catherine’s chatty interaction with the audience with her interior conversation with a male voice ruthlessly dissecting her behaviour. Catherine’s constant second-guessing has potential to be irritating, but the script makes her more of a daredevil with a litany of "don’t do it" whenever she approaches a crisis point. Besides, the script is so acerbically witty it becomes a pleasure to follow; Catherine’s decision to renounce men is announced with a scorchingly ribald comment.
The salty language doesn’t bother me, but when Catherine described the perils of Internet dating apps, I understood only one word in four and am not convinced she was speaking English.
Slater has an extremely expressive face which conveys Catherine’s anxiety. Despite being limited by a postage-stamp size stage, she gives a highly physical performance. Catherine wincingly accepts an unwanted hug as if she is facing a firing squad. Her pantomime of trying to work out how to start a penis ("how do you change gear?") is hilarious. There is no doubt Catherine would be exhausting company, but Slater’s empathic performance makes it easy to understand why she merits the loyalty of her friends.
Picking may be a comedy of embarrassment, but a very good script and relatable performance ensures the audience is laughing with, rather than at, Catherine as he stumbles through life.