Just so you’re perfectly clear, You Will Be Rare is hugely engaging and memorable; but it’s not a piece of theatre. Equally, it’s funny but it’s not a comedy show. Instead, performance artist Jamie Moakes pitches his unique idea to salvage the economy (centred around a side-kick in the 1980’s television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) to the criminally sparse audience.He starts off by regaling us with charts documenting the rise and fall of the prices of fuel, houses and gold over the last fifty years, astutely drawing our attention to the fact that, in the case of the apocalypse for example, gold is pretty much worthless. Moakes explains that we only ascribe worth to it because it has been dictated to us that gold is a valuable commodity.By this token, Moakes believes that he can dominate the tiniest corner of the market, that of the collectible figure of Ram-Man. We are talked through the specifics behind the decision to use Ram-Man: the series’ main character is too collectible and therefore makes it too difficult for Moakes to retain a monopoly, and collecting a more modern figure, like Barbie, would only make their manufacturers more money.The performance is conducted with the help of a PowerPoint presentation, a projector and Moakes’ ‘favourite techie,’ and he manages to make modern economics captivating and entertaining in a way that most lecturers would sell their souls for.And, slowly he begins to draw the entire audience into his mad idea.Despite him fumbling his words, or having to take a quick respite to catch his breath after demonstrating ‘Bronson star jumps’, Jamie Moakes, in all his self-professed geeky glory, is the perfect face of this kind of project. He is affable, bursting with nervous energy and a fusion of intellect and pop-culture. But the predominant reason Moakes is so perfect in You Will Be Rare is that he is completely dedicated to his cause. He has spent approximately £2,000 on Ram Mans and other collectible items, and stores them all in his studio flat.However mad this might sound, after a mere fifty minutes, two members of the audience are so convinced by Moakes and Ram-Man that they both bid to purchase a figure for themselves. When at the end of the show, Moakes asks the audience to hold up either a red card if they believe in the project or a blue card if they don’t, the room is awash with crimson cardboard.There is a quiet, well-spoken revolution starting at Zoo venues this year, and it is You Will Be Rare.
