Led by torchlight around a series of exhibits/attractions/acts, the theatre became a museum, a peep show, a freak show and a fairground attraction, each supernatural ‘exhibit’ fittingly displayed in an individually lit perspex cage. These included images of a woman with huge false breasts and fake green hands, a mermaid, a woman with six nipples, and a singing transvestite. As an audience we were asked to stand and watch, participate and interact. For one exhibit two members of the audience were asked to power the light by pedalling on two bicycles placed either side of the box. At other moments, however, we had to wait patiently for a moment of involvement, only to be disappointed and move onto the next exhibit. This led to frustration in the structure of the piece; it felt as if each exhibit should be equally interactive. This also highlighted the difficulty of bringing the magic, mystery and excitement of a site-specific piece of work into a theatre space. Perhaps the structure needed to be more appropriately integrated with the rest of the work, heightening the sensation of the whole event, and releasing its sense of fun.
From the issue 5-1 collection of reviews, written by Jackie Adkins, Sarah Dawson, Desmond Jones, Jonathan Megaw, Shani Solomons, Brendan Stapleton and Paul Vates.