Wednesday 20 August 2014

Parrot's Beak Theatre's production of Too Far Right, Hen and Chickens Theatre, Camden Fringe, Tuesday 19th August 2014

Against the backdrop of Anti-EU campaigns and a new surge in nationalist sentiment in the UK, four young actors attempt to wade through modern Britain’s political landscape. This ambitious piece of theatre used a variety of techniques to move the discussion along. The most effective were the impersonation of political figures (both realistic and caricature), and directly talking to the audience. In this way the audience was brought into the discussion and made to engage without actually having to take a stance. Other techniques were less effective, especially a piece of physical theatre involving a representation of an EDL rally which did not have a clear meaning and left me no more enlightened as to the main message.


This was the main problem of the piece for me. I felt that lots of questions were being asked but without depth or direction. The transitions between theatrical techniques were not always smooth and it had the feel of a showcase. Perhaps this best reflects the way many young (and not so young for that matter!) people feel about politics at the moment but the lack of coherence and a strong ending left me feeling unsure what the point of this show was other than to say, apathy isn’t the answer but we don’t know what is. 

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