Somewhere in the world is a radio station tuned to silence; a couple so dedicated to their virtual child that they allow their real-life baby to starve to death; a bus-load of girls who are all called Natasha who cross the border to serve men’s sexual needs; a zoo that paints its mules black-and-white to pass them off as zebras; a country where only five types of male haircut are allowed.
All these stories are true. And meanwhile, the Maldives are sinking – no, stop, the Maldives aren’t sinking, the sea-level is rising – and so obviously we can all help by suppressing our gag reflex and drinking a litre of sea-water a day, as demonstrated by Chris Thorpe whose litre of tap water has had 35 grammes of salt added to it before our eyes. And that, says Chris, is equivalent to ‘a fuck-load of crisps’. And if drinking salt water kills off a few of us – well, that’ll only help things in a world so overcrowded, don’t we agree?
Chris, when he’s not puking salt water into a bucket, turns his hand to a bit of heavy-rock singer-songwriter stuff wielding an electric guitar. Also on stage is Third Angel’s leading light, Alexander Kelly, and Portuguese actor Jorge Andrade of mala voadora.
Together they’ve devised this gorgeous piece of theatre that investigates the whole question of ‘storytelling’ and its place in theatre. Media of all sorts infiltrate our every waking moment, and we find ourselves constantly swimming in a sea of stories from around the world, trying to keep our head above the water. What stories are we drawn to, how are they transmitted to us, and what do we do with the information they give us? When do we ignore things, when do we panic like a rabbit caught in headlights, and when do we act rationally in response?
Korea, Alex points out, acts as a kind of safety-valve for weirdness for us, our prejudices summed up by ‘they eat dogs’. We can relax, bask in our sanity, because all the really strange and horrible things – like people allowing their real baby to starve as they care for the virtual one – happen ‘over there’, to people who are not like us. Or are they?
The extraordinary stories pile up: a 24-hour marriage in Iran, smuggling Snow White costumes through the Gaza border, flat pack Dads in America. The stories are told verbally, physically, musically, visually – always with a visceral punch. As our three performers tell their tales they sit, stand, play, sing, and lounge around their odd junk-shop-of-the-world living room, in which there is a turquoise brocade moose, a fish tank, a large pharmacy green cross, a stuffed ferret, a coat-stand, and a couple of mismatched sofas. There’s a harrowing, yet darkly funny, climax in the re-enactment of a massacre, played out with plastic sheets, a white coverall forensic investigation suit, and a water pistol loaded with fake blood.
And meanwhile, that family in Israel are off to bed to the sound of silence coming from their radio – a very special sort of silence, a loaded silence full of possibilities.
Third Angel have made a name for themselves bridging the gap between ‘new writing’ and ‘live art’. Great to see them supported by Northern Stages, and a pleasure to witness such a thought-provoking and entertaining show. Makes you think about the world, makes you laugh about the world, makes you glad to be part of the world in all its madness – what more could you want?