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Published: 25 August, 2011
by AMY SMITH

ORIGINALLY a French novel, I’ll Show You Mine was adapted by author Raphaele Moussafir into a one-woman play; the version at the Lion and Unicorn has been translated and adapted by Clare Betney, director Delyth Jones and the actor Caroline Horton.

As the audience enters the space and finds their seats, Horton is already in character, moving with the clumsy gait of six-year-old Rachel, navigating the only prop, a low gymnastic beam.

Surprisingly, the beam is never used for sports but instead represents various locations.

The play follows the young Rachel as she confidently stomps through childhood, taking her cue from TV and film rather than the teachings of adult family members.

Her romantic idealism and knowledge of sex is based entirely on The Sound of Music, but this is sharply interrupted by the reality of home life, an annoying older brother, a cloying mother and a distant father.

Horton impresses with her stamina and ability in portraying a room full of people, swiftly jumping from physically inhabiting characters to simply using her hands to depict a family argument over dinner.

Nevertheless, it is rather disconcerting when she stays in character to signal the technician with an exaggerated gesture to cue music or lighting changes and announce the passage of time.

I’ll Show You Mine is most successful when the references to 1990s popular culture chime with the audience; there was a palpable sense of recognition evoked by her rendition of the Home and Away theme.

Despite the play being recommended for a 12 years+ audience, there is a distinct resemblance to children’s TV shows or family sitcoms due in part to the lightweight characterisation of the adults and middle-class life.

This is not necessarily a criticism; however, I would have preferred another dimension, either comedic or dramatic, to the characters and situations.

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