Search

Saved articles

You have not yet added any article to your bookmarks!

Browse articles

GDPR Compliance

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

CONSPIRACY

 
William Heraghty Review by William Heraghty 3 Published: 5 Aug 2019 Underbelly, Cowgate Show Dates: 1 Aug 2019-25 Aug 2019

You are watching three actors sat at a table. Their names are Rose Wardlaw, Azan Ahmed, and Shannon Hayes, or at least that’s what they say. There is a thick beige curtain and a smaller curtain directly behind them. What are they hiding? What’s behind the curtain? We need to know! They’re obsessed with a photo. I won’t tell you which one, but you’ve probably seen it before (it is everywhere!). Every detailed observation leads to a conspiracy which goes right up to the top! You know who I’m talking about…

What’s behind the curtain? We need to know!

Joshua Pharo’s flickering lighting design and Kieran Lucas’ sound design ramp up the air of intrigue, as if we can’t quite believe what we’re experiencing – is it some alien or government interference? Jack Perkins has written some snappy dialogue which spirals into increasingly incredulous complexity, yet with each revelation the energy seems to stagnate – each shock yielding diminishing returns. It’s as if they become stuck in the web of intrigue they weave for themselves.

Perhaps all this dialogue is a red herring to keep us distracted from the truth. The beige curtain remains closed. What’s behind the curtain? Some plot twist? Some experiment in form? Something which will make us re-evaluate everything? There must be something that will blow the show itself wide open.

I loved Barrel Organ’s previous work. I’m looking for the thing that made them so distinctive, but the liveness and layers of meaning are not there. No, it must be! I want to believe. I want there to be more. This can’t be it! Can it?

Related to this article:

Location:

Performances

The Blurb:

Princess Diana never landed on the moon. Elvis lives in Area 51. JFK did 9/11. 60% of Brits believe in at least one conspiracy theory. And not all of them are wearing tinfoil hats. Multi award-winning Barrel Organ returns with a larger-than-life, cartoonish show about conspiracy theories, fake news and an epidemic of mistrust. Conspiracy tells the stories of people brought crashing together – to find the truth, to exploit hysteria and to fight the rising tide. Barrel Organ's work includes: Anyone's Guess How We Got Here, Some People Talk About Violence and Nothing. Untapped Award 2019.