REVIEW – Seemingly Wholesome Productions – PASH

RATING: 2/5

A ONE-woman show from Seemingly Wholesome Productions reminds us how everyone in life is on different timelines, and that is okay. 

Even if you still haven’t had your first kiss at 24. 

PASH is a story about Max (Olivia McLeod) who has set herself a passionate goal – it is one week until her 25th birthday, and she is determined to get her first kiss out of the way. 

This never-been-kissed story sits somewhere between theatre and stand-up – which confuses me so much that I get lost in the story for a minute. 

PASH is the “naive, relatable girl” story, with well-developed characters, good use of space and sound and a joke here and there. 

But almost the whole show rests on performer Olivia McLeod’s shoulders (and her bumbag). 

She brings a lot of energy, brought out in particular by her fun and quirky side and she manages to make even the most boring, misogynistic Tinder dates into exciting characters. 

She handles the outside noise well, alongside some technical glitches, however, there is a feeling that as she takes to the stage, she goes into autopilot for the next 50 minutes, taking away from the authenticity and thus misses a chance to connect with her audience. 

It is a familiar story of an innocent girl who steps into adulthood and experiences everything that comes with it – playing Never Have I Ever, deciding on your Tinder bio, trying to figure out, in a subtle way, if your co-worker is into you and shoplifting lingerie. 

Although great stories, they don’t feel new – each reminds me of some other movie or life event that I remember it from. 

The jokes have the same familiarity to them, pointing out what it’s like making out with your hand or studying “Top Ten Movie Kisses”. 

The best bit of the Fringe show is the fact that the story judges no-one.

It celebrates any kind of journey into intimacy, all the various timelines, and most of all, the friendships that are just simply not supposed to end. 

PASH is a story of self-discovery.

First, dreaming of a Sound of Music kind of a first kiss at 16, then thinking that being a 24-year-old kissing virgin has become your ten-wines-in kind of secret.

From believing that kissing is just a lot of saliva to finally realising how having someone so close to your face can be special. 

PASH is a good show, but I believe the audience’s decision of whether it is a great show will depend more on their own life story and how relatable they can find it. 

Or how many Netflix coming-of-age series you’ve recently streamed. 

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