Little Lark of London

“I just want to be content with what I have”

Isobel Rogers: How To Be Content is a self-described “musical odyssey song session,” in which Rogers uses her guitar and her voice to question things about modern life, particularly focusing on creating content versus being content – yes, it’s a title with double meaning! Have you ever wondered what your therapist thinks about you? Has a polyamorous relationship been a part of your life? These are just a few of the questions Rogers plans on answering in How To Be Content.

The show begins with a song about the different kinds of people that you typically see at a wedding, poking fun at the obsessive maid of honor and the different roles that people play on the big day. This song, along with most of the other songs through How To Be Content, have Rogers putting on more of a talking voice than a singing one, including songs like a love to therapy, a Bob Dylan-esque song about a guy she was with wanting to try polyamoury and a song pondering whether to have a baby or not (appropriately titled “To Baby Or Not To Baby”).

Along with the singing, Rogers makes some interesting points on society, especially being a woman in the world of entertainment. There is a section on toxic self-care versus actually taking care of yourself, which is especially relatable for those of us who have seen TikToks about being your best self. Rogers even has a mantra about this, claiming “There’s no one younger, smarter, prettier than me” in a song on the subject. 

Unfortunately, most of the songs sound pretty similar and tend to not have real endings, instead stopping pretty abruptly with Rogers beginning a talking section of the show. A few songs have a pre-recorded backing track, with Rogers having her tech person change the volume several times throughout the show. Rogers also sometimes struggles to keep to the original tempos set at the start of the songs and falls flat in a few numbers, but tends to do a good job in recovering when these small mistakes happen. There are also a few weird bits involving lighting choices and microphone and sound issues, which led to some awkward conversations between Rogers and her tech.

The highlights of the show tend to be the funnier moments, with my particular favourite bit being a song in which Rogers becomes the King Midas of social media, with everything she touches turning into content. Some bits might have worked better as a character comedy, potentially in between the songs, especially when looking at bits like the different people you meet at a wedding, with the main focus being on the maid of honor.

Ultimately, Isobel Rogers: How To Be Content is an interesting reflection on modern society through songs, but it sometimes struggles to find itself in its comedy versus its sincerity. Rogers has both comedic and musical talent, but it would be interesting to see her either fully separate or fully commit to combining the two, creating a show that is more than just a song session.

Isobel Rogers: How To Be Content ran on 29 May at Soho Theatre. For more information on Rogers, click here.