Omnibus Theatre, London – until 28 January 2022
No One at the Omnibus Theatre bursts onto the stage with a scene in a club, complete with a live DJ, which quickly descends into a fight. Then we jump to a police station and investigation into a missing girl and the violent attack of a man. It sounds dark, but how it is performed brings a humorous touch.
The policeman, with a strong West Country accent, listening to a drug-fuelled, seemingly odd and improbable explanation of what happened has hints of Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz.
The mystery behind the attack, the missing girl and the odd occurrences then steadily unfolds. It is logical and simultaneously illogical, which is part of the fun.
Based thematically on HG Wells’ The Invisible Man, the piece has been devised by Akimbo Theatre who trained in physical theatre at Jacque Lecoq, Paris. And they put that training to good use.
While the invisible man is represented in human form by Pierre Moullier, who wears flesh colour pants, how he interacts with the rest of the characters is choreographed to give the illusion that he is unseen, often with comic effect. It is very well done.
There are also some particularly superb fight scenes, with elements performed in slow motion and sometimes in reverse.
The play sags just a tiny bit in the middle but is a fun, lively, well-constructed and thought-out piece of theatre. Definitely recommend.
I’m giving it ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
No One, Omnibus Theatre
Presented by Akimbo Theatre
Performed by: Lexie Baker, Jonathan Ben-Shaul (DJ), Pierre Moullier, Flo Widenbach, Halvor Schultz, Owen Bleach
Running time: 1 hour and 20 minutes without an interval
Booking until 28 January; for more information and to buy tickets, visit the Omnibus Theatre website
