Bold Binge Culture
Lynn Freeman
Elimination Rounds, directed by Joel Baxendale and Ralph Upton, Bats Theatre, reviewed by Lynn Freeman
THIS company of Gen Ys is producing the kind of theatre that speaks directly to its peers.
The actors cast a cynical eye at themselves and others, at media and greed, at humanity and inhumanity. Their plays are saturated with imagery, sound, colour and messages and they tap into the theatres of cruelty and absurdism.
It’s a lot for an audience to take in, perhaps harder for those a generation or two removed from the Ys. I was aware of total engagement from those younger souls around me while I found myself wearying of the torrent of nastiness, cruelty and distastefulness.
As someone who’s never been drunk, the tales of drunken escapades didn’t speak to me. But hey, I’m not the target audience. It must be said too that the unpleasantness on stage is all for a purpose and designed to make audiences feel uncomfortable.
Also to question – themselves, others, the media, greed, the future of the human race.
Animal Hour compares and contrasts human beings and the rest of the animal kingdom, making the point that we are not so different. As a send up of reality TV – Big Brother/Survivor, it’s very effective.
Even ghastlier than the real thing, which is hard to imagine possible. Drowning Bird Plummeting Fish shares a game show element with Animal Hour, but here a contestant is punished to a point where his life is in danger when he is quizzed on questions ranging from the trivial to the topical.
Binge Culture is off to a flying start with these two shows, brought back as a double bill. They are bold and original, and as a company share the off stage and on stage roles as a true ensemble.
THIS company of Gen Ys is producing the kind of theatre that speaks directly to its peers.
The actors cast a cynical eye at themselves and others, at media and greed, at humanity and inhumanity. Their plays are saturated with imagery, sound, colour and messages and they tap into the theatres of cruelty and absurdism.
It’s a lot for an audience to take in, perhaps harder for those a generation or two removed from the Ys. I was aware of total engagement from those younger souls around me while I found myself wearying of the torrent of nastiness, cruelty and distastefulness.
As someone who’s never been drunk, the tales of drunken escapades didn’t speak to me. But hey, I’m not the target audience. It must be said too that the unpleasantness on stage is all for a purpose and designed to make audiences feel uncomfortable.
Also to question – themselves, others, the media, greed, the future of the human race.
Animal Hour compares and contrasts human beings and the rest of the animal kingdom, making the point that we are not so different. As a send up of reality TV – Big Brother/Survivor, it’s very effective.
Even ghastlier than the real thing, which is hard to imagine possible. Drowning Bird Plummeting Fish shares a game show element with Animal Hour, but here a contestant is punished to a point where his life is in danger when he is quizzed on questions ranging from the trivial to the topical.
Binge Culture is off to a flying start with these two shows, brought back as a double bill. They are bold and original, and as a company share the off stage and on stage roles as a true ensemble.
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