Really this show deserves a title which is far more outrageous, far more glorious, because it tackles head-on who we are as humans, the world which will surround us, and the possible dangers which we may confront. But then the actors constantly reminds us that we are just playing with large existential crises in what is merely a production with some audio description alongside it.
Gameplay is mind-bending: game-changing. It pulls the spectator back in time to re-evaluate their future. It reestablishes possibilities of nuclear war, possible attacks on humanity, and the assault of right-wing culture by looking from the perspective of a Daily Mail journalist. The Carmen collective, assembled of Sam Rees and composer AJ Turner, formulate a unique piece which drills down on the little time we have left.
Theatre which is drenched in sound design seems to be the future, and makes everything hit a little harder in this production. Excitingly, audio-description becomes the front piece in this two-man masterpiece. This audio description is never clunky or lack-luster but instead replaces a traditional script. It forces the audience to be uncannily focussed on the goings-on in the room itself which sets up perfectly for the imagined past which the performers draw on. It makes you more strangely aware of the imagined theatre where the action in this production takes place, not in Dome 10 in Pleasance Courtyard.
The audio description style is explained at the beginning of the piece. The actors emphasise that they will never explain how things are done or add opinions but just explain what is happening. This plain attitude to storytelling is ironically not maintained throughout which did confuse me slightly, although what this does do is maintains a single stance which should be held by all towards the right-wing and the events of horror which occur. This audio description is not only accessible but makes you acutely aware of your complicit attitude to events of war and destruction.
This audio design amalgamates perfectly with the live audio which shifts and warps based on the events in the show thanks to clever work by AJ Turner. Positioned at the back of the stage with a sound pad, violin, mixing console, and a guitar, Turner delivers a pared back, slick ambience to the events. Even more could be done with this throughout the production, although this live audio produces a unique, emotionally grounding effect. It is chilling and eery, working perfectly with the foregrounding at the start of the show with ‘Swan Lake’ by Tchaikovsky broadcast by Russian state television to create calm during times of disaster. The violin echoes this towards the end of the production.
Such simplicity is bold and should be applauded hugely. The aesthetic mirrors this simplicity. Tails and bow ties make you seem an intruder into an important spectacle, or an onlooker into some kind of funeral ritual, especially with the lectern and sound equipment laid out. While at moments narrative is slightly dry, it never fails to hit home how serious the future may be.
You feel honoured to be in this space at the right time as this is revolutionary theatre, at a time when the world is a shifting place.
Gameplay is running until 29 August (excluding 17 ) at Dome 10 at The Pleasance Dome.
Buy tickets here.
Photo Credits: Jessa Blackthorne
