Actress Siobhan O'Loughlin isn't taking her tub on the road, but her one-woman show is coming to a bathroom near you. (Photo by Zack DeZon)
Right up front, yes, performer Siobhan O’Loughlin is nude beneath the bubbles. Second, “Broken Bone Bathtub” is a G-rated experience even though her costume consists of an arm cast. Third, yes, it’s in a bathroom, because that’s usually where people keep their tubs. Richmond is the beginning of her first southeastern U.S. tour. O’Loughlin is tub surfing with a show she’s performed 400 times in 22 cities in five countries.
She’ll be at three venues scattered around the Richmond region, Feb. 22-24, Friday and Saturday performances at 7 and 9 p.m., Sunday shows at 2 and 4 p.m.
Audience space is limited, so if you’re into this form of immersive theater, you can buy the $25 ticket now.
You can watch this video to see if “Broken Bone Bathtub” is for you. I’ll wait.
After an accident, O’Loughlin needed assistance from friends. One aspect of the experience was that at the time she lived in an old knitting factory in Brooklyn. “And there were showers, but no bathtubs.” Thus began her first Bathtub Tour out of necessity.
“The piece is re-creating this experience of a strange, awkward experience, of borrowing friends’ bathrooms and relying on people at a time of need and suffering. My friends were, in some cases, helping me with a bath.”
"Broken Bone Bathtub" came together during an artist’s residency in Manila, the Philippine capital. Since she was out that way, O’Loughlin chose to visit a Tokyo pen pal to whom she’d written since age 13. “And then I thought, maybe I should meet some artists. Maybe I should meet somebody who wants to produce a play.”
O’Loughlin also manages social media for a few clients and, using that connection, found a firm in Tokyo willing to sponsor the show’s premiere. “They even figured out a way to project Japanese translations above my head,” she recalls. “So, this piece emerged from a group of artists willing to try something out in Japan.”
The handful of audience members become O’Loughlin’s close friends, for the show. She tells her story, and directly engages the audience, with questions. In this way, no one show is exactly like the other. During longer engagements, O’Loughlin has known people to attend three times.
“The show is completely organic,” she explains.“The audience settles into the space, the show starts, it’s up to me what happens.”
O’Loughlin built a framework script, but she weaves the conversations around that loose structure. Also, those sitting closest to her are asked if they’re OK with washing her hair and shoulders.
O’Loughlin explains, “I treat the audience like friends, I talk about what I’m going through and what they’re feeling, asking them about things that they’re feeling. It’s a thin line. You ask for that catharsis.”
In this respect, “Broken Bone Bathtub” is a hybrid: one-woman interactive show, but part performance, part therapy, part confession and unlike anything you’re liable to experience.
