Involution | Reviews

Thought-provoking, well envisioned and also humorous and intense

FRINGE REVIEW

Edinburgh 2008

Involution - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

Pleasance Dome

Low Down

Set in London, sometime in the future, this play follows an episode in the lives of 5 young people who find themselves governed by a christian regime, their future decided by their genetic profile.
Review

Tnis is strong writing that steps boldly into a near-future scenario where genetics lies at the root of the decisions made in government, strongly influenced by a resurgent Church. A story of relationships- to ourselves, to each other, to society. In turn thought-provoking, well envisioned and also humorous and intense, the play ranges across the emotional spectrum, and succeeds in exploring a world that is a frighteningly real prospect.

The set was imaginative and practical, and gave a nice physical structure to the space and the lighting and sound, simple but effective.

As the play began, I felt the performances lacked energy, however, the pace was soon picked up and the whole cast performed well, in particular Jane Lesley as Violet who gave a relaxed yet strong performance.

Rachel Welsh's writing is intelligent and insightful, often with humorous moments that work well to balance the piece. A writer to look out for in the future. Her writing is realised in a very watchable way by this ensemble cast who carry their characters with commitment and a strong sense of naturalism in the dialogue. Visionary fiction has to be believed by the performers in a way where they, literally, step into the future and make it real for the audience. Involution succeeds in creating this plausibility. This is a tale that literally "evolves", there are many developments, twists and turns. Welch has carried this off with some skill. And it is this that creates such an engaging "involvement" with the audience.

I really enjoyed this performance finding it, engaging, funny and very thought provoking and look forward to seeing their next production.

Reviewed by CM/IP 18th August 2008
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Mokita Productions

Surely what theatre is all about

A play which asks questions of its audience and doesn’t provide any easy answers - surely what theatre is all about.
Involution 4-Star Rated

Involution
(2008)
Mokita Productions
Pleasance Dome. 30th July - 25th August (not 18th). 12:00 (1h15)

It is some time in the future and the Faith Party has taken control. People’s genes are ‘coded’ to be checked for their innate suitability for positions within society. Christianity is the law and God’s decision is that humanity cannot mutate genes to help those who are ill, we cannot play at creator. It is into this ‘brave new world’ that Rachel Welch has thrown her characters, giving this essentially relationship driven drama a much more powerfully charged edge than most and asking often difficult questions of both it’s actors and audience.

Cohen, a geneticist and Dorset are brother and sister and are both sufferers of DBD, a degenerative disease which attacks the colon. The play opens with them waiting with Tal, a Christian friend, for J who is coming to stay from Manchester to be with Violet his girlfriend who works for the Government. What follows in the confines of Cohen’s tiny ‘pod’ apartment is an exploration into the questions of responsible genetics and the soul, people’s hidden agendas and unrequited love.

Although this is a play which deals primarily with relationships and does so very perceptively and accurately, by setting it against a backdrop of religion and science Rachel Welch has written an incredibly interesting and moving play which fully contextualises each personal battle with society’s much bigger wars. Each relationship is tainted by ‘beliefs’ and each argument takes on a life and death importance due to the high stakes at risk for all concerned. This is not another ‘Closer’ but so much more. Welch’s characters are real people, dangerous but real, dealing with issues which people would die for as well as the pain of selfish actions and unrequited love.

Mokita Productions do well with these complex relationships, for the most part accurately portraying the multi-layered confusion and conflict within each character. Of particular mention are Ben Murray-Watson who brings out the churlishness of Cohen whilst being incredibly charming, Joanna Miller whose Dorset is a fluttering butterfly who has an underlaying and almost unbearably subtle layer of sadness and Jane Lesley as Violet who slithers into the group as venomous as a viper and yet is the only one who seems to speak it straight, the only one who fully recognises herself for who she is. Indeed on the whole the enormity of the issues and the heighten emotion is done justice, and although one or two scenes fall a little flat, the performers throw themselves into Welch’s text wholeheartedly.

Involution is by no means a flawless show, it sometimes feels too big for the small space it is in, the emotion is sometimes ‘played’ and not always felt and the ending is a trifle trite, but this is such an important show that these quibbles seem to melt in comparison. The theatre is meant to be making work such as this, which looks at the possible consequences of our society’s present actions and asks difficult questions without dictating answers. I left the theatre with a head full of ideas and thoughts which have stayed with me for hours after and I cannot say that of many shows (however brilliant they have been) that I have seen this year.

[Honour Bayes]