Edinburgh Fringe 2015
Low Down
The simplest of ideas – two people stand on stage discussing what may happen to the world in the future. An hour long “what if”….
Review
A man and a woman stand on a slightly raised platform surrounded by festoon lighting. They remain standing on this box for the duration of the show. There is no indication of who they are or what their relationship is. They could be politicians addressing us from a soapbox, or two friends having a conversation at a party or maybe even a couple of street preachers.
Forced Entertainment’s work often revolves around lists or statements, and this piece is no different. The format is simple. One of the performers makes a statement about what life may be like in the future. The other performer says, “or maybe, in the future…” and either builds on the previous statement or contradicts it in some way. A lot of the statements they make are versions of realities that do currently exist or have done in the past, such as feudal systems or big brother style government control, whilst others are closer to the plot of a film such as the colonisation of space or most of the world’s population dying out in a spectacular war. Issues such as racism, sexism and segregation are addressed.
The performers deliver their lines in a relaxed, conversational way and they play off each other well, giving us moments of humour with the way they try to one-up each other. There are points where each of them get carried away in a rant about their imagined future, carrying the audience along with them. They are representative of any or all of us, “every-people”.
As interesting as the piece is, I did want it to be more dynamic. The static staging works well but after a while I found myself longing for a moment of change or growth. However this may be how the audience is supposed to feel, wanting to push through to the future but stuck in the present where we can only conjecture about what tomorrow’s parties may entail.
