One-act plays give pause for thought
THE UNEXPECTED COUPLE/NARCISSUS
Lion and Unicorn
THE latest production from Act Provocateur, the resident company at Kentish Town’s Lion and Unicorn Theatre, is a pair of one-act plays by Swiss-born writer Laurent Lourson.
The first, The Unexpected Couple rounds on the phenomenon of reality television. Lourson’s twist on this familiar theme is that the game show’s contestants are plucked from a minority that neither watch nor own a television.
The couple, Ferdinand and Daniella, strongly played by Andrew Cleaver and an emotive Kerry-Ann Plant have gone through a rigorous selection process. They meet for the first time as the unexpected couple, in the live broadcast hosted by a prowling Victoria Taylor Roberts as the show’s presenter.
As Ferdinand and Daniella begin to muse on their selection, and reveal their life-stories we see that they have more in common than they and the show’s audience would have expected. Although it concludes with a confusing and superfluous reappearance from the show’s presenter, the play raises some fascinating questions about the reality of life experience and the experience by proxy of gawping at the contrived machinations of reality television.
The second of Lourson’s plays, Narcissus, is a futuristic comedy revisiting the themes of Greek mythology and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and begins with a bout of energetic go-go dancing by the coquettish Dawn Marie Wilkinson as Chloe. Ronald Van Duuren as Narcissus shows a deftly humorous touch with his portrayal of the newly-created robot. Although it seems like a 1970s B movie in parts it’s still an animated performance from all the cast, bolstered by the appearance of Abraham Taylor as the creature’s creator at the climax of the story.
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Until Sept 24
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