GISELLE: REMIX at the Pleasance Theatre

★★★★★

“a must-see – a piece of queer performance that is not to be missed”

Adolphe Adam’s romantic ballet Giselle tells the story of a young peasant girl who falls in love with the disguised duke, Albrecht. Driven mad by the revelation of his true identity, Giselle joins the deadly sisterhood of the Wilis, the ghosts of spurned women who seek revenge on their former lovers by dancing men to their deaths. GISELLE: REMIX – created by Jack Sears and Hannah Grennell and produced by Molly McGeachin at The Project People – reworks these universal themes of love and the loss of innocence through a queer perspective, reimagining Giselle (Sears) as a heartbroken queer individual who turns to the community’s sometimes overly sexual nightlife to satisfy their need for belonging.

Accompanied by a lively dance troupe (Harri Eiffert, Elle Fierce, Spike King and Marie Astrid Mence), Giselle explores her feelings of shame, assimilation and anger before eventually finding comfort in the camaraderie of the queer community, looking up to her elders and setting an example of queer joy and liberation for the next generation.

GISELLE: REMIX is a tour de force of lip sync, comedy, dance and cabaret. The choreography – a collaboration between Sears, Grennell and the troupe – is truly wonderful. The cast’s energy is incredible – the dancers writhe around the stage with outstanding finesse and Sears provides a powerful focal point. A particular highlight is a highly erotic dance to Anal Sex by Only Fire – the cast move seamlessly together, using their few bodies to successfully create the feeling of a packed, sweaty club. The production is accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack of queer icons and hyperpop bangers from Natalie Cole to the late SOPHIE.

The show features some wonderfully playful sound design (Rhys Cook AKA Oberon White) – most memorable being a hilarious mashup between sounds from male gay porn and famous declarations of love from television and film. The lighting (Lucy Adams) is masterfully atmospheric – it changes flawlessly between scenes and the mood on stage.

The set (Blythe Brett) is very plain – a round stage that has audience seated at its very edges for maximum engagement opportunities. There are no props and only rare appearances from a stool. Good use however is made of the stages various entrances and exits – the troupe regularly disappear and reappear from a staircase at the back of the stage as well as tumbling from the left, right and back for more dynamic entrances.

The costumes (Laura Rose Moran-Morris) are well conceived. The cast begin wearing soft pastels and tulle ballerina skirts before casting these off in favour of leather and fetish wear. Their movements also change significantly throughout the show – what was once smooth is now erratic; Giselle’s innocence from the opening scenes completely discarded. Sears puts on an especially amazing performance when dressed in a gimp suit, lip syncing aggressively to a rather frightening audio about various fetishes. Positioned on all fours, he bangs and grips the floor and fabric around him, violently ejecting a near-nonsensical stream of conscious.

My only criticism is that of the guest performer. Each show is to feature a guest performer – Kit Green, Jonny Woo, or Lavinia Co-op – depending on the date and the foremost present for press night. GISELLE: REMIX began with a lip sync from Green that was unfortunately wholly lacklustre.

Their choice of song was far too slow and though they injected some humour through breaking their lip sync and requesting the audience undress them, their asides were lost on anyone not in the very front row. Their performance was also quickly forgotten when the commanding stage presence of Sears and the captivating movement of the dance troupe took over. Green appeared again at the very end of the show – offering a comforting hand to Giselle-cum-Sears as they realised the power in standing united with your fellow marginalised people, but their particular presence added no real value. Hopefully, subsequent guests bring a matching vigour to the show.

GISELLE: REMIX is a must-see – a piece of queer performance that is not to be missed. It is exciting to think of what Sears, Grennell and The Project People may do next.

GISELLE: REMIX at the Pleasance Theatre

Reviewed on 12th April 2024

by Flora Doble

Photography by Ali Wright

Previously reviewed at this venue:

GWYNETH GOES SKIING | ★★★ | February 2024

CASTING THE RUNES | ★★★ | October 2023

DIANA: THE UNTOLD AND UNTRUE STORY | ★★★★ | November 2022

DIRTY CORSET | ★★½ | April 2022

SHE SEEKS OUT WOOL | ★★★★ | January 2022

DOG SHOW | ★★★★★ | December 2021

LIGHTS OUT | ★★★★ | October 2021

CATCHING COMETS | ★★★★ | September 2021

EXPRESS G&S | ★★★★ | June 2021

GINGER JOHNSON & PALS | ★★★★ | June 2021

GISELLE: REMIX

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★★★

“This is a night intended to inform, using clever playful techniques at times, about an unsettling subculture”

The audience file into the small Camden People’s Theatre a little nervously. A man stands at a lectern, smiling and smartly dressed, as classical music plays. Nothing could feel further from the dark world of the ‘involuntary celibate’ culture that has seen murderous consequences.

For those of us not quite sure what to expect of I, Incel, written and performed by Christopher Montague, the initial effect proves surprisingly accurate. The performance unfolds as a presentation, with slides and props to boot. It’s not quite as simple as it seems, though, with dark undertones referenced as the hour passes as Montague begins to step away from his lectern and seemingly his balanced, removed persona.

As all-too-long YouTube videos made by now notorious young men identifying as incels play behind him, our speaker seems to transform. He vapes as he gazes at a long leather jacket that hangs imposingly to one side of the stage. The lighting (cleverly deployed throughout by Lucy Adams) dips and Montague briefly becomes a silhouette… before returning briskly to his speaker’s podium and persona as the video ends.

I, Incel is presented as a work in development, and at times this shows. This notion of Montague slipping into, being drawn towards, the darkness of incel culture doesn’t quite hold, which is a shame as it suggests a greater darkness that would really help throw the shadows of the piece into relief. Montague himself, while a likeable performer, is perhaps part of the reason for the production feeling a little one-note; some lines are delivered with timing just a fraction off, robbing them of the dark humour or shock value they could have offered. And when he crosses the stage to interact moodily with the hanging jacket, it’s hard to feel too moved by his brooding; his demeanour otherwise just feels too, well, nice, despite his references to seeing how close he could have come to incel mindsets in his youth.

The after-show feedback form asks how much audience members knew about incels before coming to the show, and whether the content went too far or not far enough. This suggests an apt preoccupation with some areas that will benefit from more development. It’s a conundrum; so many of those electing to come to a show on this topic will, of course, probably have a decent level of understanding already, and with that in mind the material felt rather basic. But then of course Montague and his consultant producer, Hannah Elsy, will want to ensure that this can act as a primer for those new to this especially torrid corner of toxic masculinity. It’s a balance that still needs tweaking, and a tricky one at that.

Still, criticism of a performer for being too warm and content for being too accessible hardly feels fair. This is a night intended to inform, using clever playful techniques at times, about an unsettling subculture that has manifested in tragedy before and will, one fears, do so again. Any production designed to bring this into the sunlight is to be commended, especially one as thoughtful as I, Incel.

Reviewed by Abi Davies

Photography by Georgie Lanfranchi

GISELLE: REMIX at the Pleasance Theatre

★★★★★

“a must-see – a piece of queer performance that is not to be missed”

GISELLE: REMIX at the Pleasance Theatre

Reviewed on 12th April 2024

by Flora Doble

Photography by Ali Wright

Previously reviewed at this venue:

GISELLE: REMIX

GISELLE: REMIX

Camden People’s Theatre

Reviewed – 1st November 2019

★★★

“This is a night intended to inform, using clever playful techniques at times, about an unsettling subculture”

The audience file into the small Camden People’s Theatre a little nervously. A man stands at a lectern, smiling and smartly dressed, as classical music plays. Nothing could feel further from the dark world of the ‘involuntary celibate’ culture that has seen murderous consequences.

Reviewed by Abi Davies

Photography by Georgie Lanfranchi

I, Incel

Camden People’s Theatre until 2nd November

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: