The centre of Sloane Square usually finds itself playing host to young couples on romantic walks, small school uniform attired boys throwing paper aeroplanes at each other, or bustling shoppers darting to grab a quick bite to eat on their way home. However, since the 10th February a small and quite dingy looking caravan has moved in and claimed a piece of the Square for its own. Is this squatters rights gone mad? No, its simply the latest off-site production offered by the Royal Court.
Aiming to draw attention to the crisis seen in the summer of 2007 when heavy rains and flooding drove over 48,000 people from their homes, Look Left Look Right have not settled at a mere realistic portrayal of the events. Instead, they have created a hyper-real environment where audience members can experience the misery of being cooped up in a caravan for themselves. From the meeting point in the theatre's restaurant the emphasis is on the authentic, be it the paper clippings available for our perusal, the clutched, scalding cup of tea in a paper cup which had just been offered to us or the damp, stifling air inside the caravan itself.
The entire text of the performance, which had been created through a series of interviews with real life victims, is presented to the small audience of just eight not as a lecture or a news broadcast, but rather as an intimate chat. And it is this intimacy which makes the production so deeply moving and harrowing.
The confined space of the caravan means that you have no escape. You are forced to press up next to your neighbours engaging in some body contact and, more importantly, you are forced to look the 'performers' in the eye and listen as they tell you of their ordeal. There is no room to drift off into the darkness here, you are on display as much as the actors and it is this sensation which makes you stand up and pay attention.
But while the space forces you to be receptive to what is taking place, the performance would ultimately fail had it not been for the tremendous ability of the cast of five. As they sit amongst you and invite you to experience a part of their lives you instantly warm to them, care for them and want to know about them. You are engaged on every level and as they offer you biscuits, and as you eagerly accept them, you realise the truth behind the headlines. Here we see the individuals who were affected by the events, individuals that up until now have been lost in the sea of statistics. This is verbatim theatre at its most effective, and it is truly thrilling.
Phil Burt
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