Theatre / Review
Review: We Want You to Watch, Wardrobe Theatre
We Want You To Watch opens Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s annual Directors’ Cuts season in some style. The original National Theatre production, by Alice Birch and Rashdash, has been sexed up by director Claire O’Reilly, designer Roisin Martindale and the four-strong cast.
Pig (Holly Carpenter) and Sissy (Anna-Kate Golding) want to eradicate porn forever. This is not an easy thing to do, but they’re trying. Right from the off, this slickly choreographed piece boldly thrusts the subject matter into your face with an unfiltered lens on the good, the bad and the seedy presence of porn in our everyday lives.
It is deliberately contradictory and provocative throughout as the characters grapple with the purpose of porn and understand their reasons behind their desire to rid the world of it. But when asked ‘What is porn?’ by the Queen (Mofetoluwa Akande), Pig and Sissy struggle to articulate using language, and opt instead for some genius interpretive dance.
The piece is very much from a female perspective, and isn’t afraid to examine how porn reaches beyond the confines of the bedroom, examining its influence on violent crimes, what happens when children are exposed to graphic content and how it educates about intimacy.
Acknowledging that it can be a positive form of escapism, it’s legal and that it’s a part of our everyday lives, “Millions of people watch porn every day, and then go out and do a fun run,” the Beautiful Man (Charlie Layburn) defends.
Performances from the student cast are exceptional across the board. The piece exudes energy, detail and the clever breaking of the fourth wall. Various design touches make the audience feel a part of the ensemble.
A large plastic curtain is used to punctuate scene changes, and doubles up as a screen for projected images, lending the space a sterile environment, echoing a crime scene or hospital. The sparse monochrome space flooded with piercing lights and colourful costumes evokes the chaos of our digital age.
Claire O’Reilly and the team have set a high standard for the rest of the Directors’ Cuts season, continuing the Wardrobe Theatre throughout May.
We Want You To Watch was at the Wardrobe Theatre from April 30-May 4. For more info on the remainder of the Directors’ Cuts season, visit www.oldvic.ac.uk/events-shows and thewardrobetheatre.com/whats-on
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