PERFORMANCE REVIEW: Project X

Project X - Love & Madness: The Madness Season
Riverside Studios, Hammersmith

Taking your seat in a theatre, you can be forgiven for assuming certain things are about to take place. The etiquette and traditions of British theatre-going have been in place for over a century meaning that for majority of people a theatre ticket means not only watching a performance but going for a pre-theatre meal, buying a programme and enjoying an interval ice cream. Bearing this in mind, Love & Madness' Project X is a truly tantalising prospect. Expect the unexpected.

As the company began devising the production - while rehearsing for the Riverside residential a Dodin-esque fashion - there was an understanding that it could take on any shape or form, be performed in any space and could deal with any subject matter. Love & Madness take the rules and threw them out the proverbial window. But what is the end result? If I say the words cornflakes, weasels and Nirvana, you may get some idea.

While Love & Madness have opted to keep the performance within the traditional theatrical space, its no holds barred when it comes to performance style and plot. The latter concerns Ron Cheeseman, an average looking 33 year old postman who goes about his mundane daily routine perfectly content. That is until he learns about the small issue of death. And so follows Ron's earth shattering realisations that he has no understanding of childhood, the aging process or indeed mothers, realisations that lead him to a half baked suicide attempt and a twist that could give M. Night Shyamalan a run for his money.

The beauty of this production is how different it is to everything else from the Madness season. After dealing with murdering gangsters, insane army generals and grave exhumations, here we see Love & Madness letting their hair down and having fun. And it is a fun that is both exciting and intoxicating for the audience to see. John Giles is heartbreaking as the confused posite while there are some stand out performances from chorus members Will Beer and Toby Wharton whose expressive faces and comedically fluid movements bring tears to the eyes. Director Matthew Sim offers a wonderfully crazed Willy Wonka style Head Weasel (the only hint I'm going to offer about the road this story takes) who manages to walk the fine line between sinister over-lord and uber-camp menance with elegance and poise.

This production has the feel of a University style production where the actors dare to explore, to take risks, to experiment with new ideas and, ultimately, to have fun. You get the feeling that all performances should be this brave and exciting. As they wave farewell to the Riverside Studios, Love & Madness can be confident that they have not only gained a new, wider fan base, but they have shown the Hammersmith audiences that true theatre is not about a star name offering a half-baked turn as Hamlet. Its about the collective soul, the group and the ensemble. And that is something we shall forever be grateful for.

Phil Burt

Project X runs in rep until July 25th