The ever experimental Flanagan Collective is back with their new show,
More of a work in-progress rather, than a fully fledged piece of theatre.
The Flanagan Collective follow in the footsteps of many other experimental theatre groups by inviting a different actor to perform each afternoon, with some help from a volunteer in the audience. It’s a brave move, and in a show dealing with randomness and probability. it’s a stroke of genius to randomize the actors as well. But, unfortunately, it slightly falls flat, as the script doesn’t seem to let the actor engage the audience in any great depth. There are moments that do invite discussion and debate such as if we believe in God and how we come up with our moral compasses, but they come across as forced and disconnected with the rest of the show, even though it does eventually become clear why they were included. Furthermore the complex, and sometimes wordy, arguments being discussed can trip up the cold-reading actor, meaning the show’s flow gets interrupted a bit too often. It’s definitely worth noting that each performance is inherently and irrevocably different with each random pairing, so there are bound to be better and worse performances – fittingly, it is down to the luck of the draw.
It’s a shame that it doesn’t particularly work in practise, as it’s a very striking and well thought out concept that’s bursting with potential. However, it still feels like From the Mouths of the Gods is more of a work in-progress rather, than a fully fledged piece of theatre.
