With the Neville Studio of The Playhouse made completely black, it acts as their canvas for THE GRAMOPHONES paint their ‘Playful Acts of Protest‘ upon. With stage scenery including various sized step ladders painted in various colours/white, and a white screen with political statements written around it, such as “votes for women”, “peace not war”, and “people before profit”, it’s a minimalist and angular set, which provides a disjointed background for the political ride which The Gramophone Theatre Company take you on. It’s a vibrant piece, made more so by the bursts of colour which the three performers are wearing. Reds, greens, purples, and blues make up the performers costumes, and reiterate the playful nature of their piece. Their colourful attire matches their colourful personalities, and one of the beauties of this show is that you feel as if you are truly getting to know the performers individually, as they express their personal stories with feeling and conviction, and each with a glittery uniqueness. They use multimedia cleverly, by using a projector to display images on the previously mentioned screen, and they also utilise a video camera in one part to simulate a video documentary, which they record and project at the same time, which has a really interesting effect. It’s fun, and cleverly thought out, and really adds to the artistic effect of the production.
Audience participation plays a key role in the performance, with frequent ventures into the stalls, they ask for quotes, opinions and interactions. They hand out vegetables, and ask audience members to hold up placards, throw paper, and to also hold up two large cardboard breasts. It’s great to be involved, and the laughing and conversations between audience members and the performers makes it seem really relaxed and open, helping us to connect with them and their messages. Their messages are political and each person has their own political agenda; Ria campaigns against capitalism, whilst Kristy fights against food waste, and Hannah stands up for women’s rights. Their political stories are told to us sporadically, and on a rotational basis. We won’t just hear one story all the way through, we’ll hear part of one, before it switches to another member. It’s an interesting method to keep the audience engaged, and a way to spread them out evenly, but sometimes it can feel a little disjointed. The play is entitled ‘Playful Acts of Rebellion‘, and it certainly is that, with rib tickling comedy and a lighthearted feel, it certainly displays the more fun and frivolous nature of political protest, however in this, I feel it’s treading too lightly. They missed a trick with the political aspect – it could have been made much more emotionally three dimensional with some real, engaging material. A few statistics were mentioned here and there, and there was a picture of a bin with some slices of bread in it, but with the subjects they are talking about, they could have really engaged with tasteful, artistic, but gut wrenching political material, which wouldn’t have dampened the mood, and done tastefully could have really plucked heartstrings rather than skimming the surface. I saw ‘End to End’ in Edinburgh a couple of years ago, and found it really emotional, and it actually brought me to tears, and I feel that the magical element of their performance was a little lost in this piece, which was disappointing for me.
Nonetheless, the overall production of the performance was really well done, with a creative use of the space and props and an engaging and entertaining method of storytelling, the performers successfully navigate their way through their own stories. They are such lovely characters, and their personalities and vulnerabilities shine through, making it feel like a very personal experience. Their honesty about their dilemmas with political activism ring true with most people who feel politically passionate about an issue, and it was really great to see these more personal sides to them. It’s entertaining, vulnerable and fun, whilst also packing a bit of a punch, and is definitely worth seeing. For tour dates and further information, visit their website.
Review by Cassia Helme
