Okay, music. Right now, I’m listening to ‘Breathin’ by the legendary 2Pac. I’m not really that big on gangsta rap, but this is Tu-bloody-pac! Everyone should make exceptions for Mr Shakur. Okay, enough of that. This is actually a monumental blog post - a theatre review!
You’ll start seeing more of these in the coming days, weeks, and months (yes, months!). Alright, enough of my prologue!
A COLUMBINE CLASSROOM
The Library
Upper Street
London N1 1RU
Tickets: £10 per person / £30 for 5
N.B. Having not been given any sort of programme or cast list, I was unable to mention any actors' or characters' names. Sorry!
As much as I adore theatre, I hadn’t gone to see a play in quite some time. We’re talking months, which is quite a long time for me. But, as this blog started becoming more of a reality, I realised I had to pick it up again. So I did. And I chose this – A Columbine Classroom – as my popping of the Write Of Centre theatre reviewing cherry.
A quick summary: a young man is reminiscing about a particular day in his school-life. A day when he was stuck in a classroom, having an awful drama rehearsal. A day when, just down the hall, the infamous Columbine school shooting massacre was about to take place. That sounds pretty damn cool, I think. It’s why I decided to make the effort to see it, and it’s why I sit here writing this, extremely disappointed, trying my best not to be too damning of it. Because, well, I don’t think it was very good.
Now, in theory, this play could have been great. A tragic incident that still moves people now. A unique and interesting perspective. The use of dance, spoken word and music. Talented performers. All the pieces were there. And they still got it wrong.
Here’s the biggest problem – it was unbelievably confusing. They tried to use the ‘play-within-a-play’ model, with all the characters acknowledging the audience and talking to us. Problem is, most of the time, I didn’t really know what they were talking about. In Act One, especially, there was very little mention of the massacre itself, instead focusing on a lovesick teacher who shaves his balls, and a Scandinavian girl who’s main character trait was, well, being Scandinavian. I just didn’t get it. Where did any of this connect with Columbine beyond ‘we’re down the hall!’?
Act 2 started off much more strongly. The introduction of a new character, representing one of the victims of the shooting, breathes life into the piece. She is vibrant, charismatic and the story she tells is simple yet powerful. And then it just falls back down again. Another new character – a fictional Filipino janitor with a London accent – appears suddenly and starts to educate us on the original World Trade Centre bombing in 1993. Informative, yes. Relevant, no. Or if it was, I couldn’t work it out. And that was the story of my night – I just couldn’t work it out.
Now, individually, there was some good talent on show. The lead actor – the reminiscing young man – was brilliant, guiding us through the confusing narrative with charm and wit. The actor playing the victim was superb, and I was left wanting her to be on stage the whole time, not just the ten or so minutes she was. The musicians and dancer were also good, as were the songs scattered throughout the piece. And then, on the flipside, we had some very poor acting from the other artists. The inexperience was very obvious, and really hurt the piece even more. Unfortunately, it’s easier to notice bad performances when the whole show is bad, and I noticed.
Honestly, I don’t like giving bad reviews. I hate being negative about theatre, because they’re trying their best, doing what they can to make it in the industry. I know that struggle, believe me. I want to love everything and be wowed by whatever I see. Because, frankly, I love fringe theatre. I love sitting in small theatre spaces above pubs, with twenty or so people, watching new raw talent. At its best, it’s wonderful. At its worst, it’s painful. This wasn’t the worst play I’ve seen, by any means, but it wasn’t close to the best either. Some good artists were let down by a script and a narrative that made no sense. I appreciate the intention to use something as powerful as the Columbine massacre; I only wish the execution matched that intention.
Okay, I’ll end this here now. As I sign off, the sounds of ‘Kettering’ by The Antlers echo around the room. A band I’ve just gotten into after the recommendation of a dear friend, and a band I’ll actually be seeing in April! You’ll hear more about that some other time, though.
I would love any feedback you have, good or bad, it’s all appreciated. You can follow me on that crazy Twitter thing (@writeofcentre) too. For now, it’s goodbye from me, and it’s goodbye from me.
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