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Fragments of a Complicated Mind

Theatre503

Reviewed – 21st January 2020

★★★★

“Many of the hard-hitting quickfire scenes are discomforting and demand serious thought, while others are incredibly funny”

Artistic subversion should lead to societal revolution thanks to the provocative and anarchic Fragments of a Complicated Mind at Theatre503.

Rage against how people perceive and respond to issues of black identity – a phrase the production might have problems with in itself – bursts out of Damilola DK Fashola’s series of visionary vignettes presenting the audience with no-nonsense challenge and a plea for understanding.

Rarely can a piece of theatre have tackled such a broad range of ideas around its central theme. This isn’t just a complaint about how white people are allowed to define black identity but also honestly recognises ways in which the black community has in many ways accepted and developed such definition.

It is never an easy ride: there is little by way of cohesive structure and the themes of each scene (such as “Glitch,” “Gameshow,” “Protest” and “Vaginas”) are struck off the back wall on which they are all written as the performance progresses. There is no plot to follow for this is the product of a complex mind, with a kaleidoscope of disconnected ideas examined and dissected by an animated cast of eight.

There is a running theme of language and awareness and the ease of misunderstanding in what should be, but is seldom, a multicultural society: “Being black is more than a hashtag” says one performer as the role of social media is unpicked, while another announces, “The sweetest taste I ever felt was colourless.”

Many of the hard-hitting quickfire scenes are discomforting and demand serious thought, while others are incredibly funny. All nail their points home firmly and while it is understandable that different sections of the audience will identify with and take away very different messages there are relevant questions for all to ponder.

Fashola appears as well as directs and we get her passion without a shred of breathing space. This vigorous multilayered production uses monologues, witty humour, poetry, dance, physical theatre and carefully choreographed movement for its important storytelling and the energy is infectious and unflagging.

The plain black set with white chairs may seem too obvious yet it works well, as the burgundy clad performers move around it. The sound and lighting adds extra layers of intensity with few moments of silence or stillness in the bubbling cauldron.

It is a true ensemble piece as ideas and possibly random thoughts are gathered and stirred together. Joining Fashola are Effie Ansah, Lily-Fleur Bradbury, Michelle D’Costa, Jasmeen James, Antonia Layiwola, Luke Elliott and Luke Wilson.

There are some very funny lines and situations, but one section which particularly seems to resonate with the audience stems from the reflection on living in the capital. “What is it about London that brings out the tone of my skin?” wonders one performer. “It’s a multi-cultural city that doesn’t stand for tolerance.”

It is this uncompromising stance that makes the performance so meaningful and apposite and one suspects each evening could bring a different shade to the questions of colour, subtle shifts of emphasis leading to refreshed expression.

Why the production works so well is that is limited by nothing as it seeks to make the point that we are not black or white but human. Art, politics, religion, celebrity, ancestry, image and justice are among the issues put under the microscope and even though no answers are provided to the questions raised there is ultimately a demand for the audience to go away, chew it all over and help to bring the stereotypical status quo crashing down.

Reviewed by David Guest

Fragments of a Complicated Mind

Theatre503 until 1st February

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Hypocrisy | ★★★½ | November 2018

Cinderella and the Beanstalk | ★★★★ | December 2018

The Amber Trap | ★★★ | April 2019

A Partnership | ★★★ | October 2019

Out Of Sorts | ★★★★ | October 2019

Spiderfly | ★★★★★ | November 2019

A Fairytale Revolution | ★★★★ | December 2019

Click here to see our most recent reviews

★★★★

“wholesomely joyous and bitingly witty”

We all know how a fairy-tale goes: Baddies and goodies each play their part, the goodies prevail and, of course, they all live happily ever after. But how would you feel playing the same part forever and ever? Wendy (Anais Lone) has spent her forever and ever looking after The Lost Boys, cooking, cleaning, and being the nice little lady she was written to be. But she feels certain she could do something different; she wants a true adventure! Meanwhile on the other side of Neverland, Hook (Louise Beresford) has grown tired of the pirate’s life, and secretly pores over his poetry. No more swashbuckling and kidnapping for him, instead he dreams of perfecting the haiku. The two misfits decide to team up and rewrite their parts. But can they change their stories without suffering the wrath of the narrator?

The idea of the narrator as a fearsome tyrant is brilliant, represented by an omniscient overhead voice and a pink glow. The dulcet, soporific tone we all know as fairy-tale storyteller finally faces the modern world, where women can be any number of things, and men needn’t express themselves through violence, and of course that puts rather a spanner in most classic fairy-tales.

As you can imagine, the land of Happily Ever After is filled with tens and tens of your favourite heroes and villains, so with a cast of only four, they have to get rather imaginative. Aside from each performer playing a bunch of characters, there’s some great use of puppetry and props (as designed by Daisy Blower). I particularly enjoyed the two hats on a stick for Helena Morais to present Hansel and Gretel, swapping between the two as she follows a trail of imaginary biscuits across the stage.

The evening is of course jam packed with big musical numbers (written by Hannah Benson) aping some all-time classics. The musical highlight is most definitely the ode to Rocky Horror with “Let’s do the pirate again” (It’s just a slash to the left, an eye patch to the riiiiight) – hard not to join in with that one I must say. There’s a slight problem with pitch across the whole cast, but it doesn’t really matter when they’re all belting their hearts out and clearly having a whale of a time.

Writers Louise Beresford and Anna Spearpoint have created some absolutely brilliant characters – Baker Swife, for example, as played by Spearpoint has been banished for near on 200 years and has consequently engaged in a romantic relationship with her oven, Ken Wood. She has also created a ‘pick-me-up’ pie which basically induces a mind-altering revelatory orgasm in whomever takes a bite.

Normally a panto is written with kids in mind first and grown-ups second, but The Fairytale Revolution (directed by Carla Kingham), both wholesomely joyous and bitingly witty, is genuinely for the whole family. You don’t even need to take a kid as an excuse.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Helen Murray

Theatre503

Reviewed – 21st January 2020

★★★★

“Many of the hard-hitting quickfire scenes are discomforting and demand serious thought, while others are incredibly funny”

Artistic subversion should lead to societal revolution thanks to the provocative and anarchic Fragments of a Complicated Mind at Theatre503.

Rage against how people perceive and respond to issues of black identity – a phrase the production might have problems with in itself – bursts out of Damilola DK Fashola’s series of visionary vignettes presenting the audience with no-nonsense challenge and a plea for understanding.

The plain black set with white chairs may seem too obvious yet it works well, as the burgundy clad performers move around it. The sound and lighting adds extra layers of intensity with few moments of silence or stillness in the bubbling cauldron.

It is a true ensemble piece as ideas and possibly random thoughts are gathered and stirred together. Joining Fashola are Effie Ansah, Lily-Fleur Bradbury, Michelle D’Costa, Jasmeen James, Antonia Layiwola, Luke Elliott and Luke Wilson.

It is this uncompromising stance that makes the performance so meaningful and apposite and one suspects each evening could bring a different shade to the questions of colour, subtle shifts of emphasis leading to refreshed expression.

Reviewed by David Guest

Fragments of a Complicated Mind

Theatre503 until 1st February

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Theatre503

Reviewed – 7th December 2019

★★★★

“wholesomely joyous and bitingly witty”

Normally a panto is written with kids in mind first and grown-ups second, but The Fairytale Revolution (directed by Carla Kingham), both wholesomely joyous and bitingly witty, is genuinely for the whole family. You don’t even need to take a kid as an excuse.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Helen Murray

A Fairytale Revolution: Wendy’s Awfully Big Adventure

Theatre503 until 31st December

Previously reviewed at this venue: