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PIGMALION ZOO Disappointing absurdist piece exploring family, advertising and religion ●●●●● THERE HAS POSSIBLY BEEN AN INCIDENT Politically engaged play from Chris Thorpe ●●●●●
Set in a surreal world, where an unnamed God of unknown denomination has been found dead in a Sainsbury’s car park, OLTA’s Pigmalion Zoo delves into a world where advertising and reality TV hold the power, and where gods can be made and destroyed simply by auditioning. In this politically engaged, minimalist play from Chris Thorpe, several characters’ stories are expertly woven together to create a thought-provoking meditation on personal responsibility against a backdrop of civil unrest.
Following the eponymous Pigmalion and his wife, Thorpe is particularly deft at bringing both the
this show chronicles their attempts to train their abused and feral daughter to seduce, or perhaps be raped, by the new God, who is set to be chosen during the ‘Holy PG Tips’ audition. Pablo Fuentes’ Pigmalion Zoo is a piece of
absurdist writing, and the play waltzes between the surreal and downright bizarre. Themes of abuse and cruelty, coupled with moments of sinister depravity dominate the piece, often overshadowing more relevant themes, such as the power of brands and corporations and the cult of celebrity.
Visually stunning, but structurally disappointing, Pigmalion Zoo is an unsatisfying show that becomes too weighed down by its own absurdist notions to make the necessary impact on its audience. (Amy Taylor) ■ C Nova, 0845 260 1234, until 26 Aug, 3.30pm, £7.50–£9.50 (£5.50–£7.50).
personal and political together, showing individual decisions within larger contexts. The scope of the play is huge, touching on themes of protest, dictatorship, mass killings and terrorism. The ability to bring such wide ranging topics together into a coherent whole is a testament to Thorpe’s accomplished and intelligent script. The actors only occasionally rise from their chairs in order to play additional roles, an approach which no doubt is taken to focus attention on the writing. But the momentum doesn’t always keep up and requires some effort from its audience to stay engaged. Nevertheless there’s much to recommend here, not least the sheer ambition of Thorpe’s writing and the committed performances from its three leads. (Gail Tolley) ■ St Stephen’s, 558 3047, until 24 Aug, 4.40pm, £14 (£11).
KUBRICK3 Being Stanley Kubrick ●●●●●
During the early 1990s, a failed North London travel agent named Alan Conway successfully passed himself off as the famous filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. Despite looking nothing like the legendary director, Conway ‘conned’ several dozen people and organisations out of lots of money and favours. Conway’s story is funny, sad, incredible and ridiculous. You couldn’t, as the saying goes, make this stuff up.
Director David Byrne and his drama troupe PIT have part-scripted, part-devised a highly – and appropriately – theatrical portrait of Conway, that’s also full of Kubrickian references. He’s played by four different actors, three of whom are female, which is appropriate given that this odd, disturbed man spent his life pretending to be someone else.
And considering that Conway was a slippery
character who evaded the consequences of his actions – and reality in general – for much of his life, it’s also apposite that the show is frenetically paced. All of which might have been a bit much were it not for the casting of Conway’s estranged son, who provides the show with a solid dramatic grounding and a good deal of poignancy. (Miles Fielder) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 26 Aug, 7.10pm, £10.50–£12.50 (£9.50–£11.50).
THE RADICALISATION OF BRADLEY MANNING Gripping portrayal of events leading to the US army leaks ●●●●●
Bradley Manning is Welsh. That was the spark that led Tim Price to write this pulsating play about the WikiLeaks whistleblower’s life for National Theatre Wales. That the infamous 25-year-old was, not long ago, a teenager in Haverfordwest, shapes the whole narrative: Manning is presented as the latest in a line of Welsh radicals, the heir to Aneurin Bevan, Dic Penderyn and the Rebecca Rioters.
The show begins with an immersive trail around the deserted school venue, to an unnerving soundtrack culminating in a mix of the audio track from the leaked ‘Collateral Murder’ video of a US helicopter shooting at Iraqi civilians. Soldiers stare out from otherwise empty classrooms, setting the tone for some thoughtful experimentation with the idea of occupied space both in the physical world (Iraq) and online (hacking), and the potential of each for fostering radicalism. Performances are streamed online with social media debates
encouraged, which does a lot to highlight the strength of biographical theatre over blockbuster biopic: the show has evolved to include updates from Manning’s trial as it happens, while the internet responds to the performance in real time.
A slick ensemble cast shunts us forwards and backwards in Manning’s life. From his imagined school days to his unhappy army career and eventual incarceration, we get to know a boy, small for his age but hot-headed and good with computers, who is given this choice by his father: ‘Do you want to be a man and join the army, or do you want to be gay and work at Starbucks?’ The play is a powerful argument about radicalism, technology and personal battles, framed in a gripping study of the character of a complicated modern anti-hero. (Charlotte Runcie) ■ Pleasance At St Thomas of Aquin’s High School, 226 0000, until 25 Aug, 7.30pm (Sat & Sun 2.30pm & 7.30pm), £12 (£10).
22 Aug–19 Sep 2013 THE LIST FESTIVAL 119