“remains dangerously close to a school review in comparison with the bombardment of talent hitting London’s fringe theatre scene”
It would be a cheap remark to say that, after sitting through last night’s performance at The Space, one feels ‘fleeced’, but it is hard to connect the exciting publicity for this show with its underwhelming result. Written and directed by Georgia Hardcastle (co-founder, with her sister Sally, of Matipo Theatre Company), this work sets out to explore how we construct our identities and become part of the flock of society while feeling cheated by it. There is a certain youthful energy and enthusiasm and a voice trying to be heard but the play tells us what we already know and does it in ways which we have already seen.
We open on an Orwellian scene. Dressed in neutral grey, the cast walk robotically as numbers, until two of them discover human contact. They are punished, choosing either to become sheep or shepherds. Or neither. It’s not entirely clear. We move abruptly to a video game. As the characters join forces to complete the level, the knight and the unicorn think they might get on ‘in real life’… until they reveal their ages. And…? There follows a series of short, insubstantial sketches which relate, in some way, to identity, generations, social media, gender and relationships. But we know who would win a tug of war between professionals and the unemployed; we know children are regularly exposed to inappropriate online material and this affects their behaviour; we know social media feeds us trivia in the hope that we forget about serious issues, that art can be pretentious and that couples get caught in coercive situations. Apart from an interesting idea using movement to illustrate a couple’s transformation, the theatrical formulas have been seen time and time again. New writing has to find a fresh way to tell a story. And the message needs to be thought through and structured if it is to make sense. It is not enough to string ideas together and call it ‘spasmodic’.
In its favour, the end is nicely linked to the grey plodding of the beginning. We enjoy a brief element of emotion from Matty Noble, whose appearance throughout gives the show some welcome substance, and Owen Smith’s choreography produces refreshing moments of distraction. Nevertheless, ‘Fleeced’ remains dangerously close to a school review in comparison with the bombardment of talent hitting London’s fringe theatre scene.
“promises to intrigue a fresh audience, present fundamental truths obscured by social media brainwashing and spark discussion”
To an older audience ‘RUSH’ is an affirmation of the frightening hold social media has on life nowadays, but for the young it is their actuality. Personality and human subtlety are being lost in an imposed multiple choice of reactions and perceptions as they race to display fun, beauty, happiness, success … no falling by the wayside with sadness, failure or confusion. Wrapped up in virtual identification, they lose contact with the reality around them. Writer/Director Tiwalade Ibirogba-Olulode, in a clever combination of irony and poignancy, uses her own issues with anxiety and depression to spotlight the effects of being brought up in the digital age.
The cast of five characters named Alex works in tight, well-coordinated formation to set a scene of hectic disarray and engage with the audience to recreate a distorted world of messages, comments, images and information, which seduces and ensnares the younger generation, in particular. The actors perform with relentless energy to project the intensely blinkered attitude of keeping up appearances and keeping up with friends. Each Alex inhabits a different state of mind, causing or caused by disorientation between the here-and-now and on-screen existence. These stories vary in clarity, adding a possibly unintended sense of perplexity to the play. Ruth Oyediran portrays some wonderful caricatures throughout the play but the significance of her troubled moment is not immediately obvious. The lost soul (Marie Williamson) is the easiest to follow, with a moving touch to her performance, and Jaden Baker’s amusing confusion with online dating is one of his several distinctive personalities. Georgia Sidell’s hidden passion comes as an uneasy surprise, in contrast to the surrounding larger-than-life smiles and laughter and a feeling of discomfort emanates as we watch Angelo Leal suffering in silence against a background of unawareness. Visually, the production is extremely captivating with original movement sequences (James Monckton), interesting use of the stage area and varied group interaction.
Certain parts of the work are better constructed and balanced than others, exposing scenes which fail to fall into the overall shape. With an engaging opening and a thoughtful summing up, the development of ideas feels more like a patchwork of expression. Easy to relate to, evident by last night’s largely young following, ‘RUSH’ promises to intrigue a fresh audience, present fundamental truths obscured by social media brainwashing and spark discussion.
