“the piece in its current state lacks theatricality”
Last Word Theatre’s new piece, The Invisible Condition, serves as a verbatim fragment poem, addressing the state of Mental Health Services in our current social climate through a collection of incomplete personal narratives. Incredibly relevant and informative, the piece speaks to a subject matter that demands awareness and consideration, however without a narrative through line or strong distinctive characters, the piece was left waning somewhat between documentary drama and research essay.
Verbatim theatre is a tricky beast to master; with an amorphous mass of textual information, often unrelated or contradictory, the task of weaving together a compelling theatrical narrative can be a daunting one. The Invisible Condition seems to struggle with this task, occasionally edging more towards a presentation that a piece of theatre. In this style, the overwhelming variety of characters and stories, presented largely through direct address, often leaves the audience groping for some form of concrete centrepiece to tie it all together.
Despite this lack of structural integrity, the stories that are told are pregnant with humanity and tender with the stories of those who’s voices are left unheard. Navigating between the testimony of medical professionals, patients and academics, the full compliment of those that make up Mental Health services are present and correct, and a full array of perspectives and arguments are exchanged.
Some really beautiful moments of acting came through in more intense moments of pure monologue and character, extended sections of speech which allowed the audience to invest in the story of a single character, and the occasional theatrical and metaphorical use of props was greatly appreciated, and contrasted well with the simplicity of the aesthetic. However, largely speaking, the piece in its current state lacks theatricality and focus of attention and is in desperate need of strong visual cues or movement to break up the performance of the text and bring a more contextualised understanding of the stakes of these incredibly powerful stories.
Man-Cub is a visceral, animalistic masterclass. Devised by a cast of nine, directed and conceived by RADA’s Alistair Wilkinson, the hour-long physical ensemble piece retells and reworks the story of the Jungle Book, against the pulsing bass of a nightclub dance-floor.
The show begins as any night out at a London club, with a brief pat-down and the turning away of those who look a little too green to enter the lions’ den. But as the night unfurls, innocence and consent become increasingly blurred, and we are led into a world where everything is fair game and the law of the jungle reigns.
Through a spectacular feast of physical theatre, we follow the man-cubs first deep-dive into a world fuelled by physicality and narcotics, twisted and distorted by the figures of the night; the caring mother, the excluded down-and-out, the seductress and finally the predator.
Alex Britt is sublimely cast as our rosy-cheeked young protagonist. In a piece where the story is largely told visually and physically, rather than verbally, Britt’s expression and intensity is truly magnetic, drawing the audience to his exposed vulnerability amidst the chaos of the dancefloor.
Every cast member has their moment, beautifully showcasing the clear talent of the ensemble cast; without exception, performances are outstanding, with particular note to Lizzie Manwaring and Callum Tilling, who steal the show with the instinctual animality of their physical performances.
The piece itself is a testament to the potential of Wilkinson and his cast; truly visually breath-taking, the narrative is sometimes lost to the feeling of the piece, overtaken by the intense staccato movement and atmosphere and the audience are left questioning what it all means. With some streamlining and clarification, explicitly distinguishing and exploring each character, this piece could do excellently well with a fringe audience, and I am incredibly excited to see where Man-Cub, and its stunning cast, will be taking us in future.
