Review: New World Order

Weeks before New World Order went up, I kept hearing buzz around town about a production with an undisclosed title and an undisclosed location. Even after I reserved my ticket, the only information I received sums up as follows: ‘Dear Participant, you have confirmed a place to observe the interrogations. We will be starting promptly at 6.55 pm, there is no late entry. In solidarity, New World Order.’

I had no idea what I was in for, but my interest was definitely piqued. On Friday, April 13^th I attended the interrogations. Per my instructions, I waited outside of the venue with the rest of the ‘participants.’ At 6:55 pm sharp, our group was ushered into an enclosed stairwell and told to line up along the banister by two men dressed as guards. At the bottom of the stairs, a man knelt on the floor with his hands tied behind his back and a shroud over his face. Nervous looks were exchanged among the participants and most of us fell silent. It was a strange sensation –  I knew the two guards were actors but their convincing forcefulness with the audience and the uncomfortable sight of the restrained man on the ground made me uneasy.

Over the next hour, I watched two consecutive Harold Pinter one-acts: New World Order and One for the Road. Though both plays were written independently of each other, Director Anthony Simpson-Pike and Assistant Director Alina Moldovan sew them together seamlessly. Even as the first act ends and we are ushered upstairs into another room for the second act, the atmosphere of mystery and anxiety is maintained to the extent that it’s hard to believe these two plays are ever performed separately.

In New World Order, guards Lionel (Calvin Duff) and Des (Joshua Bluteau) taunt their prisoner Victor (Peter von Zhand) with threats of torture. Duff and Bluteau do exceptionally well flaunting their dispassionate ruthlessness to the audience. They circle around von Zhand at a slow, intimidating pace and deliver a chilling performance as they nonchalantly bully the trembling von Zhand at their feet. My only complaint about the scene was my blocked view from the top of the staircase. Though the haunting echoes of Duff and Bluteau’s jeering moved me, it was a shame that a portion of the audience was unable to physically see more of the staging and many of von Zhand’s reactions.

When the scene ended, the guards barked at us as we shuffled upstairs into an opulent, high-ceilinged room where One for the Road was staged. I was impressed with Duff and Bluteau’s ability to maintain character as the show transitioned. They looked at us with distrustful, menacing glares and when one of the participants accidentally sat in seat reserved for the actors, Duff approached him and said roughly, ‘Move.’

It was then that I first noticed Garrett Turner, who plays Nicholas in One for the Road. As we took our seats, many of us were confronted by his eerie smile and the creepy complacency of his expression. Even when we looked away, you felt his eyes burning into you. Just the way he carried himself fostered an atmosphere of dramatic discomfort and fuelled the audience’s anxiety.

Turner’s overall performance can only be described as spellbinding. He succeeds in portraying Nicholas as a poised and self-assured tyrant, torturing his three prisoners with a drawling silky voice that almost makes you charmed by his cruelty. His presence is commanding and often nerve-wracking as immerses himself convincingly into the mind and demeanor of a refined sociopath.

Though von Zhand has very few lines, he does well at capturing the fear and panic of a man who’s family has been murdered and molested. His crumpled face, gurgled moans, and cowering body convince us of the trauma Victor is experiencing. Gila (Kate Andrews) also delivers a poignant performance as Victor’s wife who has been raped repeatedly by guards in the building. Mention is also deserved for George Lorimer who plays Nicky, the son of Victor and Gila who is eventually murdered offstage. Though a young kid, Lorimer impresses the audience with his ability to challenge Turner’s bullying with courage and defiance.

Overall, this is not a play that I watched, but one that I experienced and felt a part of. The use of interactive theatre is well executed and forces us to engage with the political commentary underlying Pinter’s pieces. Though this production raises money and awareness for the Student Anti-Genocide Charity (STAND), this is hardly the team’s only accomplishment. What director Anthony Simpson-Pike and Producer Louise Hemfrey create is praiseworthy itself – a provocative and unique piece of theatre.