Tag Archives: Sam Ward

THE GLORIOUS FRENCH REVOLUTION

★★★★

New Diorama Theatre

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THE GLORIOUS FRENCH REVOLUTION at the New Diorama Theatre

★★★★

“The chaos is cut with emotion, and it’s carefully and cleverly structured”

YesYesNoNo are one of the hottest new theatre companies on the current London scene. Following a sell-out run of Nation at the Edinburgh Fringe, which he wrote and performed, Sam Ward’s latest offering is a chaotically absurd retelling of the French Revolution with pool noodles and bouncy castles.

There are five things this audience need to know about the French Revolution. Some are factual, some funny and some furious.

We begin in pre-revolutionary France. Inequality is rife, as demonstrated by peasants being thwacked by a pool noodle. This is a play that seethes under a jovial surface.

As the historical events develop, so too does the madness unravel. A bouncy castle, a performer on a treadmill, sports commentary of a protest, and a lot of wigs. Each performer multi-roles with cardboard signs announcing their character, none of whom are named. It’s pure Brecht. Thus, unsurprisingly, the silliness masks an anger and a serious message.

Here lies the uncertainty of the play. The anger is clear, and the parallels between modern day Britain and pre-revolutionary France, gloomily obvious. House prices are soaring, and as the rich get richer, the poor struggle for food. There is very little acknowledgement of the modern day, allowing the audience to join the dots themselves. But in doing that, the message becomes murkier, some aspects obvious, some obtuse. The ending makes the point of the allegory clearer, but feels disjointed, both in tone and meaning.

As a retelling of the French Revolution, it is sparky and punchy, if a little simplistic. As a modern-day commentary, it’s a little uncertain. It becomes a general comment on inequality and struggle, leaving the final visual moment, while striking, a little empty.

The show was devised by Sam Ward and the cast. There are some beautiful textual moments, some which have Ward’s signature flowing style. The chaos is cut with emotion, and it’s carefully and cleverly structured.

Joe Boylan is sublime, leaping over the vaulting horse, trudging on the treadmill and creating a balletic and pathetic image of the King. He also delivers the two most powerful and memorable monologues, striking an emotional resonance which is desperately needed. Jessica Enemokwu, Sha Dessi, and Alice Keedwell create delightful caricatures and bring energy and silliness to the stage. Paul Brendan deftly switches from the enthusiastic sweary washerwoman to the patronising idealistic bourgeoise, bringing each to life with joy and complexity.

Hazel Low’s set conjures an instant smile. With a shiny red floor, horse vault and an umpire chair, it is reminiscent of a school gymnasium. The childlike playfulness is brought to the fore. But the set also manages to encompass darker themes, and in combination with Han Sayle’s lighting design and Tom Foskett-Barnes’ sound there are moments of pure carnage.

This show has flashes of genius but based on YesYesNoNo’s previous work I couldn’t help expecting more from this play. It could’ve gone further, delving deeper into the messaging, and the payoff didn’t feel strong enough. As a devised piece it may evolve into something more complex as time goes on. But it’s an electric production, with some visual delights.


THE GLORIOUS FRENCH REVOLUTION at the New Diorama Theatre

Reviewed on 18th November 2024

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Alex Brenner

 

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

KING TROLL (THE FAWN) | ★★★★★ | October 2024
BRENDA’S GOT A BABY | ★★★ | November 2023
AFTER THE ACT | ★★★★★ | March 2023
PROJECT DICTATOR | ★★½ | April 2022

THE GLORIOUS FRENCH REVOLUTION

THE GLORIOUS FRENCH REVOLUTION

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INSTRUCTIONS

★★★

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

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INSTRUCTIONS at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

★★★

instructions

“The play is an interesting experiment, but as a dramatic piece, full of plot holes”

Nathan Ellis’ experimental drama is a tantalizing piece. The situation is this: every day a different actor is invited to the space where Instructions will take place. The actor knows nothing about the play they are about to perform, there has not been any rehearsal. They have been told that nothing bad will happen by the director, whom they meet fifteen minutes before they are due to go on stage. An irresistible set up, for the actor and the audience, right?

Entering the Old Lab space at Summerhall, all one sees on stage is a screen at the back of the performance space, a camera, a monitor, and a rotation disk. So far, so good. Then Josie, the actor tapped for today’s performance, enters. Words appear on the screen behind them, introducing them. They speak, reading the words from the monitor, and perform the instructions it gives. A story is introduced about an actor who has been invited to audition for a film called Love In Paris. We watch Josie audition. They get the part! We watch them perform the emotions of realizing that this is a turning point in their acting career.

I won’t give away anything else about the plot, although admittedly, it is a sketched in plot at best. Moment to moment, it gives our actor an opportunity to show their acting chops. The camera does most of the work, giving us close ups of Josie’s expressions, and later, moments of connection directly with the audience. Josie’s charm, and willingness to immerse completely in the experience that playwright Ellis and Subject Object have given them, is what keeps Instructions afloat. The play is an interesting experiment, but as a dramatic piece, full of plot holes. It drops references to things like artificial intelligence, for example, that don’t really go anywhere. There is no real conclusion to Instructions, other than the assurance that the play will be performed again, the following day, with a new performer named Nikhil in Josie’s place. The audience is left having to do much of the work of making sense of this piece.

As a piece of hyper-realism—namely sharing in the experience of the actor from moment to moment as they construct a character from the instructions given on a monitor—this piece has some interest. But it’s only a starting point for an exploration of themes fleetingly suggested in the actor’s story. I’d like to see Instructions 2.0, but I strongly suspect that would be a film about the making of the film Love in Paris, using A.I. I’d definitely be up for that.


INSTRUCTIONS at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – Summerhall – Old Lab

Reviewed on 8th August 2024

by Dominica Plummer

Photography by Alex Brenner

 

 


INSTRUCTIONS

INSTRUCTIONS

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