Camden People's Theate
Devised by: Nathan Charles
Produced by: Brightmouth Productions
Every night the fragments of the story have a new sequence, there are games and prizes to be won. Where's the negative in playing?
The audience are the players in this interactive piece, each member is a vessel; projecting the voice of the writer and telling fragments of the semi-autobiographical story. Each performance is completely different, it could last any amount of time... could be 5 minutes or it could be an hour; it depends on the luck of the draw!
Such an intriguing concept! A presentation is shown on the screen, it shows the words of the writer instructing the audience of what to do and outlining the game. Confident members of the audience will step on stage, pull a number from the box and find a script with the matching number on it. The member will then read the script. Each story in the script paints a picture of how a gambling addiction may present, in a range of different ways and through personable language that has a comedic/stand up style. There are also numbers that may match games, prizes or one of the numbers is the one that ends the show, the lights come up and the show is over. It could be the number that wins you £500...
The stage is littered with scratch cards, numbered balls, wrappers and other prizes. This seems to symbolise sections of the story and elements of the character's addiction. Even if you do not reach these sections of the story; these elements symbolise all the different ways that a person could gamble. There are also football T-shirts hanging from the ceiling and football is something that is commonly bet on. You could write an essay on all the different elements of the set alone, a huge attention to detail.
Every audience member would have such differing views on the show. It's an experience that is different each showing, because it makes you use your imagination when reading and there is not visible actors it's difficult to review the performance. Each audience member would view and imagine the story differently. If you are someone who is not a fan of audience participation, then this would possibly be your nightmare, there is this sense of vulnerability and what will they ask the audience to do next? However, there is no obligation to stand up and participate. The words of the writer are well written and have so much personality. It is a high level of writing, because the writer's voice and personality can be heard through any Joe Bloggs!
The participation element is key to the show and I think it makes you understand the message of the show better if you take part. It's so impressive how it makes you feel the adrenaline of having the opportunity of winning, you want to get up and do it again. This is what is so interesting, it almost simulates the feelings of a gambling addiction and explains to the audience the feelings the character feels when gambling through the sections of the script. A unique and authentic experience that is executed to a high standard.
The concept is almost similar to that of 'White Rabbit, Red Rabbit', shown at Soho Place Theatre this Autumn (2024), where the show made the audience get involved and have an element of control as to what avenues the show would go down. However, I think the full audience control in 'When the fun stops, Try again?' makes this show more successful and the smaller audience. This is because the smaller audience means each member get the opportunity to almost work together and personalities in the audience seem to shine through. It truly is a rare experience. The strength is in how it makes you realise how easy it is to recognise the signs of gambling addiction and how it is also easy to experience them to some degree.
To wrap this up, the only negative of the performance would be if you were the night that the first person drew a number and it was the one that ended the show. You would feel a little cheated. On the other hand, it's a fantastic strategy, as each performance would have a different sequence and audience, each showing would be completely different and would convince the audience members to come back again... However, by coming back a number of times would that mean you were addicted to gambling? I do personally believe the audience having the freedom to essentially perform the show is a risk in some ways (or a gamble), because it depends on the energy each member puts into the tasks given by the writer, which creates the enjoyment and engagement of the audience. This is a strong, unique show, with a clear message that has a lot of potential and it is highly thought provoking.
留言