Summerhall’s main hall is sold out and sweltering, and there is much anticipation around renowned Polish innovators Song of the Goat’s latest production. Never having experienced their work before I had no idea what to expect, but what I found was something quite unique. Director Grzegorz Bral welcomes us and explains that the company have […]

There is much in the ideology of Work Songs that holds appeal for any of us who have toiled in an unforgiving job: explorations of complex status play and mind-numbing routine, and a clever examination of the tension caused by ridiculous office minutiae. Broderick Chow and Tom Wells are consummate performers in the physical theatre style, with […]

The Blind is an outdoor theatre show created by the Polish company KTO Theatre and inspired by the Portuguese writer José Saramago’s novelBlindness. I’d find it impossible to review the show without making some consideration of how Saramago’s work has influenced a whole generation of new creators in performance arts and cinema. In South America, where […]

The audience is seated in traverse, on either side of the stage area. The performers are in the space – sitting, waiting – and a metronome is ticking loudly. The lights go out, and we are plunged into total darkness. The velvet softness of the dark is shattered by the harsh sound of glass breaking. […]

To a soundscape of ominous music, a suited and bowler-hatted typist diligently sets to work. In the background, spelt out in large bold letters, the word H-A-N-G-M-A-N hangs proud. Mid-stage are three dozing suited characters, their heads heavy on a table. In a world of shadows and uncertainty, these dark clad clowns rouse and play […]