Lies. All Lies.

Through a series of devised monologues, pieces of physical theatre and slam poetry, Lies. All Lies analyses the idea of truthfulness in modern society, how often we lie and what exactly we deem okay to lie about. Part of the free Fringe, this is a play which did not shy away from current affairs, but despite this the inexperience of the actors and the absurdity of some subject matter made it difficult to be convinced by what the actors were saying. Though this was an exposé on lying, in any piece of theatre an audience needs to feel secure in the hands of the actors, and this piece, though it brushed on many excellent themes, fell short of achieving its aims as a whole.

Though many aspects of the performance need to be ironed out over the course of the next few shows, the original concept is still interesting and thought provoking

The actors, wearing jeans and white t-shirts, were pre-set on either side of the stage and watched each other’s performances. They were striving towards the Brechtian breakage of the fourth wall, immersing the audience in their action, but as they laughed at each other’s punchlines and yawned when they were not onstage, it felt at times as though we were sitting uncomfortably through their own private jokes. Despite this, the monologues themselves had strong points, most notably the final one, which was fast-paced, poignant and, at points, powerful, giving the audience a lot of food for thought and allowing us to leave on a high note. The rest of the monologues in this piece, though humorous at times, fell short of packing a punch and did not add to the experience as a whole.

The actors should be applauded for both devising this piece and updating it to fit the latest crazes, with references to the E Harmony dating website and Pokemon Go. However, technically, many movements seemed to be made unintentionally, and the moving of set was slightly awkward. They strove to achieve too much in terms of the mediums through which they portrayed their themes, specifically the multimedia and voice over effects, both of which seemed old fashioned and contrasted negatively with their cutting edge subject matter.

As a whole this piece seemed under-rehearsed and over-acted, but at the same time touched on a number of strong political and personal themes. Though many aspects of the performance need to be ironed out over the course of the next few shows, the original concept is still interesting and thought provoking, and Lies. All Lies is a clever portrayal of society today.