REVIEW: TR33 by The Ordinary People at Lion & Unicorn Theatre 15 – 16 August 2022 / Camden Fringe
‘Surprising and highly original’
The company has a mission statement, to bring joy and wonder to as many people as possible. The show embraces a plethora of performance techniques to accomplish this with mime, puppetry, multi-media, and text.
The theme and loose story are about a post human world in which green flourishes once again. This allegory compares the growth of trees to the growth of media (and in particular data). There is a suggested apocalypse (with some scientific advances being mentioned). If this doesn’t sound like something that would bring joy and wonder, I have to admit that overall, I found it a little twee and at times, a little depressing.
However, there are plenty of moments to relish, including the effective soundscape. This Leeds based theatre company is comprised of two artists, Grace Scott and Maxwell Sly. Sly is a physical theatre artist, whereas Scott is an expert in audience engagement. The sound and video I assume to have been created by Scott, which blended well with Sly’s physical responses. His performance was largely playful although at times it was agonised.
The audience engagement part of the show was amusing, and we happily shook hands with Sly or held the fairy lights so that he could wrap them around us and around himself. There were also magical moments, of lighting effects or little explosions of confetti. It’s easy to imagine that this could potentially be terrific fun, for the wider community.
If I offer any criticism, it is that some of the physical pieces (puppetry, mime or physical theatre) seemed to go on for too long. It’s largely down to Sly to keep the visual interest going and this was at times rather repetitive but no doubt he has the wherewithal to sharpen this up and add extra interest.
There is certainly no doubt that the show is surprising and highly original.
The Ordinary People https://www.theordinarypeopletc.com/
Reviewed by Heather Jeffery, Editor of London Pub Theatres Magazine
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