Created by SUBJECT OBJECT
Review by Jack Cuinn
Instruction-led improvisatory shows have been a staple of excitement at the Edinburgh Fringe, from Tim Crouch’s An Oak Tree, which returned last year to the Lyceum, to Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing, which returns this year to a sold-out run at the Roundabout, and last year’s Traverse production of NASSIM, which proceeded the Royal Court production of Echo earlier this year, this immediate form of theatre attracts the attention of audiences and actors alike to share in an experience of entering into the formally acknowledged unknown direction of a performance.
Instructions follows the formula of its predecessors by requiring an actor who has no knowledge of what is to come to trust and follow the instructions provided to them for the duration of the performance. However, Instructions, unlike Crouch’s and Macmillan’s work (and Soleimanpour’s to a certain extent), abandons the volunteer actor from the safety of sharing a space with an actor who guides the performance, leaving them completely alone to follow and abide by the instructions provided to them by an auto-cue monitor.
Every day brings a new actor to the play, which adds to the excitement of the affairs as audiences can return to another performance for a completely different show the next day. This performance’s actor was Bea. With a show that relies so heavily on the cooperation of a performer to follow instructions, Bea boldly interrogated the instructions provided to her. Rather than feeling as if the performance was innately conjured up from an actor’s skill to appear composed and in control, Bea consciously included the audience in the participatory event of creating this unique performance of Instructions. At first endearing, the interaction between Bea and the instructions quickly became repetitive as she resisted allowing control over to the technology guiding her. There were obvious moments where the instructions expected the actor to rise to the challenge of delivering Jacques’ impassioned Ages of Man speech from As You Like It, but as with most moments in the show, this Shakespearean turn could have been magnificent with an actor willing to indulge in bringing truth to this performance.
At the end of the show, the footage of Bea that has been streamed throughout the performance has been recorded, edited, and played behind Bea without her knowledge of her involvement in the starring role of this film, aligning with the journey of the character of the actor in the play itself. Instructions is a compelling concept interrogating the relationship between technology and performance, power play and freedom, and consent over human autonomy, but for it to fully flourish, it relies on an actor willing to unlock the magic.
Compelling Concept
Instructions runs at Summerhall Old Lab, Edinburgh, until August 26th
Running time – One hour without interval
Photo credit – Alex Brenner
Review by Jack Cuinn (contact@corrblimey.uk)
