DramaReviewsWest End

Review: The Employees, Southbank Centre

Summary

Rating

Poor

Without doubt the worse thing I’ve ever had the misfortune to see on a big stage. This is an insult to all those creatives making theatre on a fraction of this budget.

There’s no doubting the uniqueness of The Employees. It’s big, bold and ambitious. It’s going to wow people. And if we accept that theatre’s role is to awaken emotions within us, it certainly will. The problem is, for me, the emotions were boredom, frustration and actual anger!

Let’s start with the positives. There’s no doubting the talent of everyone involved; from the cast through to the sound and lighting designers, camera operators, set designers, all are incredibly impressive. There are also some really interesting ideas at play, with a spaceship on a mission of exploration, the crew made up of humans and their humanoid clones, each actor playing both versions of themselves. But the humanoids are starting to behave oddly, almost rebelling against their programming, developing self-awareness and consciousness. The human/humanoid relationship extends further to that of employer/employee and how much employees’ lives are dictated to by their employer, even their free time, a debate we are very much having in real life right now.

And to be fair, many in the audience clearly enjoyed the whole experience. This is undoubtedly a show that people will rave about, but for others – and I include myself here – it is anything but an enjoyment. It’s without doubt the worse theatre experience I have ever had to endure. I have never had such a strong urge to walk out of a show before the end.

The problem is that rather than simply let the story play out, the decision is made to present it in a way that left me cold, disinterested, bored, desperate for the end to come and even nursing the onset of a migraine. But it’s this presentation that is going to be the same reason others will love this show.

Nearly the whole production is presented inside the spacecraft. It’s a giant cuboid that dominates the stage, surrounded by seating on all four sides, with the action then livestreamed to giant screens above. We’re informed at the outset we are welcome to move around, watch from different angles, peer inside to watch. And early on many people do, with crowds forming around the edges. But it also means we find ourselves watching 90% of the show on the giant screens. This isn’t theatre, it’s an art installation. And here perhaps is the reason I was disinterested, as it feels all style over any real substance, some serious money thrown at it to dazzle us with how clever it is.

As well as this unique viewing experience, the whole show is excruciatingly ponderous, overly heavy on its need to be clever. Things take too long, actors suddenly moving in slow mo’s or stare thoughtfully into the distance, not because the story demands it but because it looks wonderfully arty when shown on the large screens. There’s even a surreal (and admittedly amusing) moment when four spotlights suddenly develop self-awareness. But even this feels rather pretentious, as if telling us how clever and meta it all is. An hour could easily be cut, and it would still be 90 minutes too long. The clever gimmick wears thin quickly and I’m yearning for the story hidden within.

What I love about theatre is the inventiveness; creatives making shows on a shoestring budget and finding new and interesting ways to present them. To me, The Employees is frankly an insult to every one of them. It is what happens when someone is given too much money and believes they are the Stanley Kubrick of the stage. I’ve no doubt this will be raved about elsewhere, I may be a lone dissenting voice, but I have never felt so angry at a production in my entire time reviewing.


Written by: Olga Ravn
Directed by: Lukasz Twarkowski
Translated by: Boguslawa Sochanska
Produced by: STUDIO theatregallery
Video by: Jakub Lech
Scenography by: Fabien Lede
Lighting by: Bartosz Nalazek and Svenja Gassen
Costumes by: Svenja Gassen
Set by: Piotr Szczygielski

The Employees plays at Southbank Centre until 19 January. Further information and tickets available here.

Rob Warren

Someone once described Rob as "the left leaning arm of Everything Theatre" and it's a description he proudly accepted. It is also a description that explains many of his play choices, as he is most likely to be found at plays that try to say something about society. Willing though to give most things a watch, with the exception of anything immersive - he prefers to sit quietly at the back watching than taking part!

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