View Post

‘Feels like a really essential piece of contemporary culture’: TRUTH’S A DOG MUST TO KENNEL – Battersea Arts Centre

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Aleks SierzLeave a Comment

Has theatre’s time passed? In Tim Crouch’s latest 70-minute show, Truth’s a Dog Must to Kennel, first staged at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh last year and now at Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) in south London, the nature of live performance is interrogated by this innovative and imaginative theatre-maker, with a little help from a virtual reality headset and William Shakespeare.

View Post

‘An extremely important story’: The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes – Touring

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Touring by Laura KresslyLeave a Comment

Framed by the lens of the intrusive and boundary-breaking rise of artificial intelligence, The Shadow Whose Prey Becomes the Hunter by Back to Back Theatre serves as a wake-up call on how non-disabled people alienate people who have what are referred to in Australia as ‘intellectual disabilities’.

View Post

NEWS: Finalists announced for new online theatre award OnComm

In Audio, Awards, Children's theatre, London theatre, Musicals, Native, News, Online shows, Plays, Press Releases by Press Releases

Since the start of the Covid pandemic closures in 2020, many independent, alternative and fringe theatre venues and companies across the UK and beyond responded to the challenges of lockdowns by taking their shows online – and OffWestEnd has responded to this whole new strand of theatre by launching a new award, the OnComm, for the best of this new stream of online theatre.

View Post

‘The eccentric inventiveness is thoroughly entertaining’: THE FUTURE – Battersea Arts Centre

In London theatre, Opinion, Plays, Reviews by Rev StanLeave a Comment

The eccentric inventiveness of what Little Bulb has done is thoroughly entertaining.

Little Bulb Theatre: The Future, Battersea Arts Centre 2019. Photo: Adam Trigg

I loved Little Bulb Theatre’s last production Orpheus so much I saw it twice, so I was really excited to see their new work The Future.

It projects us into the world of three scientists who, with the help of a compere/conductor/presenter (Clare Beresford), explore super intelligence – AI – and the impact it will have on humanity. 

This being Little Bulb their take is executed with quirkiness, music and song.

The scientists wear tinfoil on their heads and have an idiosyncratic way of talking that manages to be nerdy, dry and humorous all at the same time. Shamira Turner is particularly brilliant in her style of delivery.

Living with super intelligence

AI is represented by a box on a stand – the genie contained – and the play (and it’s rock-inflected songs) explore the good and bad of living with super intelligence.

Scenarios and presentations are played out by the scientists in their own quirky style of fun and you find yourself laughing at them just as much as with.

Little Bulb Theatre: The Future, Battersea Arts Centre 2019. Photo: Adam Trigg

Sometimes points are embellished with songs which, hand on heart, I didn’t like much. It’s a personal thing, I find it hard to engage with narrative delivered in this way and musical theatre does have a tendency to make me cringe. Sorry. 

It did temper my enjoyment, but there was a lot I did like, the eccentric inventiveness of what Little Bulb has done is thoroughly entertaining.

Artificial intelligence is a meaty topic and not one that is going to be properly explored and challenged in 60 minutes but The Future touches on some interesting aspects of the debate, creating a platform for further discussion.

Little Bulb Theatre: The Future, Battersea Arts Centre 2019. Photo: Adam Trigg

All the characters in the play are based on real scientists with some dramatic license and we are left with a selection of their written works,which inspired the piece, to peruse.

See The Future at Battersea Arts Centre until June 29th.

It’s 60 minutes without an interval and it gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for inventiveness and fun but ⭐️⭐️ for the songs.

You might also like to read:

My review of Little Bulb’s Orpheus

Fringe review: Woke, Battersea Arts Centre, a powerful look at American civil rights activism now and in the 70s.

From the archives: Remembering the travellator in the Young Vic’s production of Joseph K with Rory Kinnear.

And more about Little Bulb Theatre.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)