Synopsis
Programme
Impressions/Performances
A stage play based upon peoples attitudes to voting is an intriguing idea and on that level at least it was interesting to see what could be made of it. The answer, unfortunately, is "not much" - that is to say that for most of the eighty minute run time, despite the odd amusing comment from the interviewees, it is in fact rather dry. Part of the problem is the timing - coming as it does in the immediate aftermath of the recent election, and the two months of unbridled media attention devoted to that event - it feels a little "after the lord mayors show." It would have had more impact, and might even have raised the local voting figures a little with it's (albeit limited) insights into voter apathy, had it preceded the election.
The stage play was derived from a research project undertaken at Leeds University, the dialogue being taken directly from transcripts of interviews conducted by Professor Steven, and the academic origin clearly shines through in the resultant stage drama. The interviewer, played by Simon Poland, has all the pompous intensity and delusive zeal, largely out of touch with reality, of an archetypal university professor expounding upon his favourite book-learned subject. He never actually educates, but poses questions, leads the discussions, and all too often reads evidence for his conclusions into situations where none exists - like when a young mother who professed no interest in politics spoke about offering her children a choice of baked beans or fish fingers for their tea. Yes, that's politics agreed our interviewer. You can't fault the logic - the simplest definition of "politics" is, after all, "a process by which groups of people make collective decisions" - it just doesn't suit the situation, with children it's not negotiation, but far more likely simply a clamour of self-interest - but then maybe that's politics too!
The rest of the cast provide witty and bold performances all round, each playing multiple characters as the interviewees - irrespective of age or gender. But therein lies the next problem. Few of those interviews included in this collection have anything of any real intelligence to say. True, some of the more frivolous comments are actually quite funny, but it feels as though the selection of interviews has been cherry-picked to illustrate a pre-determined conclusion - that British voters are apathetic, disillusioned, uninformed and in many cases just plain stupid. Certainly, living in the heart of the region in which the interviews were taken, I know many intelligent, committed and well-informed voters who were not represented in this selection at all. In that respect, this production seeks not so much provide an explanation for the continuing fall in electoral turnouts, as to justify a case already decided.
Ultimately, it feels more than a little preachy - telling us we should be more interested in politics than most of us are. Where that falls flat, however, is that one suspects that the majority of the audience for this production was made up of individuals who are politically active - the very concept of this production, after all, is such that it would appear to afford little appeal to those who are not already interested in politics - and therefore is preaching to the converted. As such, given it's content and format, it provides little more than an opportunity for those who do vote to look down and snigger at those who do not - a somewhat sanctimonious exercise. In the end it is a wasted opportunity, the idea is good, but the execution is execrably faulty. The result is disjointed and sadly lacking in insight into the subject it purports to investigate.
Verdict
Amusing at times but poorly constructed and as a result lacking in any significant insight or impact.
Don Gillan - www.stagebeauty.net