PETAR MILOSHEVSKI

The Passion according to BIBI | Review

Camden Fringe Review: The Passion According to Bibi by Petar Miloshevski at The Cockpit Theatre

When I heard about this solo show by the award-winning Petar Miloshevski, I was in awe of the concept. I’d never seen a show that was about the future of human sexuality and it intrigued me. Imagine a world where noone has sex with people anymore, due to embarrassment of our bodies and/or health and hygiene reasons, so we all buy a “Bibi” a robot who will keep us company and fulfill our social and sexual appetites, whatever they may be.

Here is the synopsis written on the Camden Fringe website:

Meet BIBI.

The latest 1N5TA-5EX robot.

Humans have lost the notion of offering their body unselfishly. That is why we have invented the future of sex.

BIBI learns things about you. BIBI smiles, blinks and frowns. It remembers your birthday, what you like to eat and drink, the names of your parents. It can hold a conversation about music, films, books, tell jokes, quote Shakespeare and Chekhov. And of course, BIBI will have sex with you at will.

No matter your sexuality or gender, with BIBI by your side, you’ll never feel unfulfilled.

As a solo show, I wondered how Petar would go about setting the scene and telling the story but with a clever mix of acting, mime, music, sound and amazing mood lighting, Petar brings Bibi to life.

The set is very minimal, a single white chair is all that is needed and Petar uses his body in a variety of ways on the floor, the chair and in the space to show us (the audience) what is happening.

The opening is very powerful with choreography, which  is very doll like/robot like, performed with precision alongside some very good and timely sound effects. It’s obvious that Petar has had professional dance/movement training as even his poses are very stylised.

At times I felt so sorry for Bibi, who seemed to take the stress of his “owner” (which Petar performs different voices for) who came across as needy, miserable and a motif in the choreography – the carrying of the chair over his head seems to represent this fact. It was quite intense at times!

A question asked in this show was about the mask we all wear in public – our public persona.

• Who are we when we’re alone?

• We all play a role in public – Is our persona real or a sham?

• Is it true that life happens to us and we just react?

• That was certainly food for thought…

This show is totally different to anything I have ever seen before. I did not expect it to be so intense, especially as a solo show.

Huge respect to Petar who managed to keep such intensity and entertainment at a high level for a whole hour alone, especially in the London heatwave, wearing at least 6 inch heels! 

Just brilliant!

Chanel Williams