Genuinely, the fringe theatre in London is absolutely stunning. Both shows I saw with the group left me REELING. Lift was a short moment relative to the length of life, that will stick with me for years to come. Girl On an Altar was a visceral experience, shaking me to my core and showing me what good greek tragedy can do. Not to even mention how great it was to sit so close, fringe in London is absolutely astounding.
Starting with Lift, the story inside the mind of an artist working through life problems and moving forward in the few intimate seconds riding up the lift in the tube surrounded by the many odd strangers one might find in London. The 90-minute run time is crammed full of the imperfect but astoundingly unique reality of London. the glowing network of tubes filling the tightly packed black box represents both the convoluted tube map of London and the set dressing for each scene. The music is brimming with heart and soul, feeling deeply personal at times, and impressively bizarre at others, it comes off as endlessly interesting as the city proved to be. I fell in love with London, and this show managed to encapsulate that in the rawest and most imperfect way, making me fall in love with it as well.
Girl On an Alter. Raw and true, it turns a searing mirror to family dynamics, toxic masculinity, the effects of trauma, and the danger of power in a visceral take on the story of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. With modern dress, and a minimalistic set, the show finds its power in its focus on the movement, lighting, and dialogue. It takes the text and forces the audience to feel it deeply as best it can, the stark red of bloody sheets, sounds of sex, the screaming tears of a trauma unhealed. It does a powerful and wonderful job at this. Happy to report that there was direction for all the intense aspects of this play. For the safety of the actors, this is most definitely needed for this play. I’m slightly less happy to report that it did lack a warning for the audience or at least lacked clear ones (though that seems to be a trend in British theatre… perhaps a cultural disconnect between America and London there.) Knowing the story well, I suppose I expected some sex and gore, so harmed I am not, but a valid criticism remains. While the actors were safe, I fear for audience members of less fortitude than I.
(I would also like to mention The Play That Goes Wrong. No longer fringe, it started there and the attitude of the cast and crew remains as such. The Mischief Theatre company is a wonderful bunch worthy of all the credit they get and more)
Theatre in London U of A 