Sealand tells the tale of Ted and his son who leave mainland Britain to set up a principality on an abandoned oil rig out at sea. The move is fraught with problems, both legal and emotional, that are translated by the cast into an hour-long naturalist performance. The script is up to date with references to the London Riots, the NHS, and greedy bankers; when combined with the cast’s acting talent, this creates a relevant and thought-provoking show that paints an accurate picture of today's Britain.
The actress playing Sarah must be singled out; she managed to interject a raffish charm to a character torn between home and family. Her emotional back and fourths, and comedic delivery, glued the show together. It is very rare to come across an accurate representation of a 16-year-old in today’s entertainment media. However, this is a very convincing performance and a credit to writer and performer alike.
Zoo venues’ Monkey House provided a perfect space that the set designer had clearly taken full advantage of. The rig was constructed out of knick-knacks from a coastal environment, such as fishing lines, tin cans, and crab crates. The set was further put to good use through the utilisation of trapdoors that created various stage levels. This not only kept the audience visually engaged, but was also very convincing as an oil rig.
However, a number of things in this production were problematic. Often the blocking was ill-advised, which resulted in a number of key scenes losing their momentum. Although sections where the whole cast was on the stage were great and sucked me in, the important one-on-one scenes felt bizarrely staged. There was also the ever-present nagging sense that this was a play, and that therefore everything had to be directed to the front. Finally, although the set was beautiful crafted, it wasn’t played with enough.
It is a testament to the script, cast and set that I felt so taken in by the world and characters to the extent that I wanted to vault from the stalls and join them on stage. However, staging issues always kept me slightly distanced from full immersion.
Nevertheless, I feel that the cast and crew of The Alchemist Theatre Company warrant a mass exodus from the mainland we call the Royal Mile into the Oil Rig at Zoo Monkey House, and I would recommend this performance.
