list.co.uk/festival Can Theatre Change the World? | F E S T I VA L T H E AT R E
First Time
A G E N T S O F C H A N G E
Can theatre change the world? Gareth K Vile takes a look at three plays asking the tough questions and challenging audiences at this year’s Fringe
P olitical engagement has become one of the common themes within the Fringe. Parcelled up into different strands of the programme, theatre companies attempt to address the pressing concerns of the moment – predominantly Trump’s ascendancy, the alt- right’s occupation of public discourse and austerity over the past few years. At the same time, the umbrella of political engagement is used to justify the continued importance of performance at a time when food banks have become all too familiar and worries about the fi nancial security of the NHS are frequently evoked in the discussion of state funding of the arts.
Activism is rarely the sole focus of Fringe productions, with exceptions like London- based company Cardboard Citizens who retain a direct link between their organisation and their subject matter, working with homeless people as they tell their stories on stage. But it has become an important component in
contemporary theatre, while also infl uencing organisations like Extinction Rebellion who consciously incorporate theatricality into their protest actions.
Theatre is often content to operate as a form of consciousness raising, presenting certain perspectives – usually on the progressive or left- of-centre side – to encourage debate. The nature of criticism, however, often fails to extend this process, reducing shows to a star-rating and aesthetic commentary, and not taking the debate forward. It’s here that the consciousness fi nds its ceiling, contained within the performance and not moving beyond the stage. ‘I’ve learnt that telling a personal story can allow an audience a lens into a perspective they haven’t ever considered,’ says Nathaniel Hall, writer and performer of First Time, an autobiographical solo show that considers the impact of HIV. Beginning with his own experiences, Hall ‘zooms out to consider the global perspective: 35 million people have >>
31 Jul–7 Aug 2019 THE LIST FESTIVAL 113