Tag Archives: Auriol Reddaway

DISTANT MEMORIES OF THE NEAR FUTURE

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Arcola Theatre

DISTANT MEMORIES OF THE NEAR FUTURE at the Arcola Theatre

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“a bold and fresh idea”

Set in a near future Britain where advertising is king, and data harvesting unnervingly personalised, love prevails against all algorithmic probabilities. Multiple stories, multiple romances, all entangled within this technological dystopia. A tech entrepreneur falls in love with a poet, an app user is branded unlovable, and an astronaut remembers her wife. These stories link through one moment that questions the true nature of connection.

Written and performed by David Head, this show sparkles in its lampooning of consumer culture and advertising. The narrative tone borders on observational stand-up, from commenting on dating apps, to shared workspaces, to accepting cookies online. It’s sharp, and on point.

The show is a multimedia feast. As the story evolves, it is interrupted by advertisements, transported to the world of TED talks and immersed in the in-app design of β€˜Q-Pid’ the latest dating app craze. These projected videos, by Joseph Peecock (lead video design) and Katya Shipulina (advert video design) perfectly capture the tone and style of contemporary advertising. They feel disconcertingly real. This is amplified by Liz Mcleod’s graphic design. While perhaps a little overused, these clips are witty and expertly rendered.

While Head’s writing is undeniably well-crafted, with each joke snappily landing, the story is slightly disjointed. It takes place across different timelines, perspectives, and at one point – different planets. While it comes together in a neat conclusion, there are moments that might’ve been pared back.

Laura Killeen’s direction uses careful blocking to denote character, with different stories unfolding in different areas of the stage. While this helps to clarify the multiple story strands, when added to the multi-media elements, it leaves the overall flow feeling choppy.

The emotional crux of the play is a moving storyline involving an aging interplanetary miner yearning to hear her wife’s voice one last time. For this portion the narrative style feels distancing, made more so by the use of a mostly static puppet. This should provide a striking visual moment, especially with the addition of revolving torchlight and glimmering β€˜stars’ from lighting consultant Amy Daniels. But it lacks the desired poignant punch. At this point Head’s performance style stilts the potential for the concept, which is a shame, because it could be deeply moving.

As the piece develops, the tone shifts towards a hopeful note, with Jessica Munna playing an on-screen AI bot turned poet. In its sincerity, the energy of the show droops a little, and I found myself missing the gloomy wit of the beginning. The play never quite untangles its bleak dystopia, and the inspirational message feels a little hollow after the accuracy of the earlier satire.

It’s a bold and fresh idea, which pokes fun at oddities of the internet age while allowing a for a glimmer of hope in dark times.


DISTANT MEMORIES OF THE NEAR FUTURE at the Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 13th November 2024

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Max Caine

 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

DISTANT MEMORIES OF THE NEAR FUTURE | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | November 2024
THE BAND BACK TOGETHER | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | September 2024
MR PUNCH AT THE OPERA | β˜…β˜…β˜… | August 2024
FABULOUS CREATURES | β˜…β˜…β˜… | May 2024
THE BOOK OF GRACE | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | May 2024
LIFE WITH OSCAR | β˜…β˜…β˜… | April 2024
WHEN YOU PASS OVER MY TOMB | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | February 2024
SPUTNIK SWEETHEART | β˜…β˜…β˜… | October 2023
GENTLEMEN | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | October 2023
THE BRIEF LIFE & MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF BORIS III, KING OF BULGARIA | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | September 2023

DISTANT MEMORIES OF THE NEAR FUTURE

DISTANT MEMORIES OF THE NEAR FUTURE

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

 

BRIDGE COMMAND

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Bridge Command

BRIDGE COMMAND at the Bridge Command

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“complex and polished enough to build a community and keep them coming back for more”

Bridge Command is part escape room part video game, where participants must work as a team to captain a space ship and complete a fully immersive sci-fi mission.

The world is meticulous, if incomprehensible. Set in a distant future in outer space, participants are members of an intergalactic navy, who must fight alien pirates and navigate high stakes crises. Fans of Star Trek will rejoice, it’s a chance to be part of this fantasy world. For those less familiar with classic sci-fi tropes, some of the jargon is hard to follow. However, this is the kind of experience where a fan could keep returning, with many missions and different roles on offer.

On our mission, we must visit a space port to retrieve a data-pad for our home base. We are all assigned roles, with different responsibilities on board. Some of the team are familiar with the world, already able to excel at the game. While we do receive extensive training, it’s somewhat daunting to a beginner. While most escape rooms deploy a range of skills, and have obvious rules to the world, Bridge Command is more chaotically plotted. It is exciting though, the stakes are high, if not entirely clear.

There is a charming eye to detail. On arrival we don navy overalls and are asked if it’s our first time teleporting. We travel through a β€˜teleportation device’ where the startling light show leaves no doubt at the impressive level of tech that will be involved throughout. The bar gives us drinks in flasks, strapped around our suits. Then our team is introduced, and the mission begins. We are ushered through room after room, shown an astonishing array of well thought out immersive space craft and bombarded with the lore of the world. This is where I get a bit lost, but for some of the team it’s clearly a thrilling chance to play.

It is easy to see that Bridge Command is a dream come true for fans of video games, sci fi, and role-play. The world building and enthusiastic commitment to character from the performers makes the experience feel very real and as we come under fire from enemy spaceships, it is genuinely stressful.

For me, there was too much to learn in quite a short time and then the actual game play felt confusing as the aim wasn’t clear. However, it would work well as a team building experience, or for those who’ve always secretly wished they could command their own space mission. This experience is complex and polished enough to build a community and keep them coming back for more.


BRIDGE COMMAND at the Bridge Command

Reviewed on 15th October 2024

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Alex Brenner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More reviews from Auriol:

KING TROLL (THE FAWN) | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | NEW DIORAMA THEATRE | October 2024
COLIN HOULT: COLIN | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | SOHO THEATRE | September 2024
THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | DOMINION THEATRE | September 2024
VITAMIN D | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | SOHO THEATRE | September 2024
BITTER LEMONS | β˜…β˜…β˜…Β½ | PARK THEATRE | August 2024
ENG-ER-LAND | β˜…β˜…β˜… | KING’S HEAD THEATRE | July 2024
SH!T-FACED A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE | July 2024
VISIT FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN | β˜…β˜… | HAMPSTEAD THEATRE | July 2024
MEAN GIRLS | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | SAVOY THEATRE | July 2024
SKELETON CREW | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | DONMAR WAREHOUSE | July 2024

BRIDGE COMMAND

BRIDGE COMMAND

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page