ARLINGTON

Tron Theatre

★★★

“well worth seeing for its well executed design and engaging performances”

In the latest addition to the dystopian, Big Brother-esque theatre scene, Arlington – a new production from Glasgow-based dance-theatre company, Shotput – is a visual spectacle of a show with incredible performances and a stellar design team. Written by Enda Walsh, the show sets up an intriguing premise which it disappointingly fails to follow through on.

Lights up on a stark raised stage, outfitted only with a waiting room bench, a lone ticket dispensing machine and a pile of clothes. Around the perimeter of the stage we see multiple monitors and pieces of run down looking tech – someone is definitely watching. Above the stage a large sign with the number ‘3097’ is hanging ominously. The story begins by following Isla (Aisha Goodman) as she waits endlessly for her number to be called so she may escape her room in this mystery tower. We are given very little in the way of information as to how she came to be here and what is going on with the rest of the world outside these towers. A new, unnamed man (Alex Austin) enters Isla’s sphere to monitor her from the screens outside. Eventually, the scene shifts away from Isla and her comical body-pillow dance duet and we meet another unnamed character. Played by Jack Anderson, we are entranced by a twenty minute solo dance piece, presumably depicting this character’s journey inside their own room. Finally, our third and final captive brings the story full circle as we discover he is the guard from Isla’s tale, now trapped himself.

The story that we attempt to follow throughout this show is convoluted and unsatisfying in the few answers we are given to the many questions that arise. While this is likely a conscious choice in the storytelling, it weakens the show considerably as the scrappy structure offers little in the way of closure. That said, what this show lacks in plot it makes up for in volumes with its direction, Lucy Ireland and Jim Manganello, and design elements. The set design, Anna Yates, offers a beautiful contrast between the harsh clinical environment of the room and the soft, deeply damaged nature of the control centre outside in the real world. The lighting design, Emma Jones, and sound, Garry Boyle, work together in perfect harmony to create a chilling all-encompassing atmosphere that creates a sense of perfect unease, never allowing us to relax or know what is coming next. Rob Willoughby’s video design transports us to a disturbing reality of constant observation as we are invited at all times to see at least four versions of the live actor via the aforementioned monitors, while the mysterious man behind the control desk remains with his back turned and swathed in shadow.

The performances across the board are superb. Each performer incorporates elements of dance into their character, with Jack Anderson providing a solo routine so vivid it’s hard to look away. Aisha Goodman brings humour and grit to her performance as Isla, allowing us to perfectly appreciate the frustrations and quirks of living in this strange world. Alex Austin skillfully allows us to connect with his character’s vulnerabilities and awkwardness even while sitting in the dark and turned away from view.

Overall this is a production well worth seeing for its well executed design and engaging performances. If you’re looking for a satisfying story that will leave you either sated with knowledge or content with the well managed unknown: look somewhere else.

ARLINGTON

Tron Theatre then Scottish Tour continues

Reviewed on 23rd October 2025

by Kathryn McQueen

Photography by Brian Hartley

Previously reviewed at this venue:

BLACK HOLE SIGN | ★★★★ | September 2025

ARLINGTON

BLACKOUT SONGS at the Hampstead Theatre

★★★★

“the ending is strong enough that the audience’s slight loss of attention is whipped back into submission”

Alice and Charlie have both found themselves at their first AA meeting. Lingering by the coffee table, avoiding taking their seats, Alice persuades Charlie that he needs a drink for medicinal purposes, and off they run. This is the beginning of a tumultuous, toxic, hopelessly sincere love story. Or at least, that’s how one of them remembers it.

Scenes are presented as fact, later disputed or questioned, with no resolution; specific details and conversations repeat themselves in various parts of the story, and the audience experiences the desperate, failing attempt to recall things as they happened. It reminds me of Florian Zeller’s The Father, where we experience dementia first-hand, except in this case, neither witness is reliable, nor does it really matter. The fact is they love each other.

Anisha Fields’ design appears, at first, almost non-existent: stackable chairs line two sides of the stage, and that’s about it. It’s possible that’s just how the auditorium looked pre-rehearsals. After a while, though, despite their avoidance of AA, the chairs seem to suggest that the whole play is taking place at a meeting, someone trying to set the record straight, finally. Alice is dressed like Penny Lane from Almost Famous, in a fitted Afghan coat, large sunglasses, and a little slip dress. The comparison is perfect: Alice has performed as herself for so long she’s become the performance, and what appears false initially is actually just who she is now. She seems so ridiculous on first meeting that I’m worried Rebecca Humphries just isn’t very good, or the script has let her down. But the opposite is true: her façade is ridiculous, but her insecurities bubble just under the surface.

Alex Austin’s Charlie is scrappy and dopey and his near lack of costume- baggy top and jeans- reflects that. He’s the antithesis of Alice, always himself, always honest about how he feels. Austin appears as a nervous puppy, so ready to be loved, and it’s completely endearing and, ultimately, heart breaking.

Sound designer Holly Khan and lighting designer Christopher Nairne do a lot of the heavy lifting: masses of reverb when they’re in a church, a thudding heartbeat timed so perfectly with the on-stage tension, you can’t recall when it started; sickly florescent tubes double as unflattering lighting at the AA meeting, and artful strobes, denoting the strange experience of time, and the eponymous blackouts.

There is no dead space in this script, but writer Joe White does have a problem on his hands. Because despite the fact that there are no scenes to cut, it’s too long. Ultimately it doesn’t matter; the ending is strong enough that the audience’s slight loss of attention is whipped back into submission. But the script is so nearly perfect, it’s a shame it’s not ever so slightly pacier.

Tag Archives: Alex Austin

ARLINGTON

★★★

Tron Theatre

ARLINGTON

Tron Theatre

★★★

“well worth seeing for its well executed design and engaging performances”

ARLINGTON