AND/OR

Corpus Playrooms, 15th-19th February, 10pm, £5-6

Directed by Xavier Buxton and Nicolò Crisafi

[rating: 1/5]

This play lasts half an hour. It’s a play about choices. There are some characters who made some choices. Unfortunately, the characters who make choices make them all at the same time, speaking over one another so that it’s impossible to determine why they’re making choices, what the choice-making experiences are like, or what the outcomes are.

Confused? Me too. As I left the Corpus Playrooms last night, I was nervous. Nobody wants to be the one to admit they didn’t get the play. But I didn’t. Neither did the two friends I was with. And since the three of us made up 75% of the audience, we figured it was probably okay to admit we didn’t get the play.

Photographs by Hannah Bohm-Duchen

For some reason, the director/writers thought it would be a good idea to put on two separate plays on the same stage, at the same time, and get the characters to talk over each other continuously. This irritating duality was broken up by a wearying monologue, potentially about incest, and quite a lot of chess trivia. Perhaps these characters were somehow, cleverly linked? I wouldn’t know.

Enough criticism. The premise behind this play was a good one: I think the directors wanted to explore every outcome of a particular choice, in a sort of Sliding Doors-esque way. Turns out you can’t do this with four actors in 30 minutes. It’s just way too confusing.

Susie Chrystal was the only good thing about this play, maintaining focus throughout which unfortunately can’t be said of the other actors who managed to trip up over lines and look really, really uncomfortable. Oh and the crying scene, which was perhaps the most ‘cringe’ thing I have ever witnessed.

I’m sure it was the actors’ potential that was limited by weak script and weak direction. The play didn’t make sense. It wasn’t edgy; it was boring, and it would have taken a group of exceptionally talented actors to make it even vaguely watchable. In most cases brevity is the soul of wit, but Polonius never saw this play. Even the half-hour running time can’t redeem it.