Staging The Nation are spending just two nights at Theatre N16 with Vote Revolt by Jessica Bailey and A Game of Chaos by Terri Donovan. Two very different productions merged into one show and directed by Tonje Wik Olaussen.
It begins with Vote Revolt, three short scenes inspired by Paul Thompson’s By Common Consent. Two of the scenes show a country we wish we didn’t recognise, but sadly do. The third gives a brief glimpse of a broken society “It’s like Call of Duty. Only real.” On their own, they don’t appear particularly cohesive but they do set a context for the rest of the evening.
Then comes the slightly complicated A Game of Chaos, which makes up the majority of the show. It took me a little time to realise we’d gone from a scripted piece to improv. The characters are in some kind of space and cut off from the outside world, but have everything they need to survive including phones and wifi. At the end of a set time, which is counting down behind them, they will have to vote whether to remain or leave.
There are a number of complex rules, announced by a voiceover, they must follow, such as only playing music from Queen’s Greatest Hits and not touching each other, all as the size of the space shrinks. As if that’s not confusing enough, they each have a secret objective the others have to try and figure out, it’s a bit like the old party guest game on Who’s Line Is It Anyway?
Of course the whole thing is one giant metaphor for Brexit; when they vote it’s the majority that decides, there’s conflicting information and a lot of unknowns, and everyone is more concerned with the immediate objective than the long term consequences of the vote.
The improv part became a bit of a struggle, it was sometimes difficult to grasp exactly what was going on as everyone talked over each other and Bohemian Rhapsody blared out of a phone. The cast also seemed to be struggling a little, not in their performances which were excellent, but more about where to go with it and what to do next. The rules didn’t seem to be being adhered to and the clock suddenly started ticking faster, the vote was then abruptly called long before it had reached zero. Of course, this may have been deliberate, it was hard to tell.
Vote Revolt and A Game of Chaos, is a really interesting concept, it does a very good job of highlighting the issues around the Brexit vote, and referenda in general. With some development, this could easily become a very thought provoking and enjoyable piece of modern theatre.
