There is no narrative, plot or characters within 4.48 Psychosis, so you are put off-balance from the start. This is no safe jolly romp but a bewildering plummet into the deepest recesses of madness.
Within minutes, the confusion starts as the stage lights and actors come on. Five actresses - who would not be out of place in a Shakespeare's Sister video - and a single actor in yellow pants. The bizarre costumes only a hint of things to come, with all five girls vocalisations weaving in and out of and on top of one another.
With lots of twitchy movement and annoying little sounds, the cast cleverly create an air of tension in the theatre. Sadly not through their acting prowess, but by doing all those little things that are guaranteed to annoy you.
It's from there that you get drawn into the play rather than watching. You begin to empathise your annoyance at the incessant twitches, ticks and tapping with the frustration and anger the characters feel towards the world.
Unfortunately there was a sense that some of the pauses were too long, lines were forgotten. It all felt a bit under-rehearsed and messy.
Just as you think you have a handle on Psychosis, there is an extended dance scene. While keeping the audience off balance, it did go on for rather too long. It's only as the house lights came up and the doors opened you realise just how involved in the madness you were.
This would have been the perfect way to finish the play drawing you back into the real world if the director had not announced that they ran over their time slot and could we all please leave without seeing the end! If the cast and crew relaxed a bit more and didn't mention their mistakes then we would never have known and enjoyed the show all the more for it.
