★★★★★
Lewis Ian Bray’s love letter to his brother Jack is a high-energy one-man play that never dips during its 70 minutes. Bray embodies his brother, his parents, a cartoon universe and all the people who come to the door – playing out scenes between multiple characters.
Bray’s brother Jack loves cartoons, and he brings Lewis into the world of Cartoonopolis, where we meet a multitude of wacky characters; visit ham-sandwich restaurants, fly in planes and all manner of fantastical situations. This takes place at the same time as Lewis looks out for his brother, whether taking him to the hospital or getting his dinner ready.
Lewis is a brilliant actor, it’s a joy to see him conjure up scenes, which he does with exquisite detail. His Merseyside charm gives a richness to the story I rarely see on stage.
A lot of theatre about the autistic experience has been made exclusively by neurotypical people. The common trope is ‘my sibling is disabled, it’s so hard for me’, or a Curious Incident load of bullshit. Finally Lewis, an autistic performer has created the show about his sibling in a respectful way. It never felt exploitative, it felt celebratory. He centred Jack’s voice; literally in the closing moments!
Bray has managed to accomplish something not often seen in disabled-led theatre, and for that he should be applauded. His genuine call to arms against the cruel systems that target autistic people is a message people need to take away from the play. The fact that Lewis has been doing this show for 10 years, and the systems in place to support autistic people have only eroded, is a sobering message.
Cartoonopolis is on at Jack Dome at Pleasance Dome until August 24th
