Review: The Late Utopians, Underbelly Cowgate

“A journalist’s job is not just to give an account of events, but also to give meaning.” So states Emma (Lilly Walker) as she begins her book reading. Her book is about her investigations into the rave scene and the counterculture surrounding it. But quickly we are taken into that rave scene, as we witness through flashbacks Emma’s struggle to balance the two opposing worlds in which she exists. One is of the journalist and her belief that they are there to report on the world and what is happening, the other that which she has found within the rave scene, which she soon realises is “in direct combat with the 9 to 5 corporate world.” There, the people are more interested in the here and now, the presence, the people who inhabit this place. 

It’s here that she meets Mark, a man living on the fringes of society, a man filled with rage against injustice, rallying against the ever-expanding capitalism that consumes everything that he, and the world he inhabits, holds so dear. Mark’s world is one of the people over money. 

The Late Utopians is a play where I could easily sit back, close my eyes to it, simply listening to the words. Walker’s delivery is pitch perfect as she inhabits its characters. Her tones wash over the room in a way that could so easily be a podcast, heard whilst walking through nature. But it’s not just her delivery, it is the words written by Alfie Jones that flow so very effortlessly and carry us through this strange environment.

But as much as it could be a podcast, that’s not to say in this staged form it is not aided by the visual aspects. The opening scene, once she places the book she is reading from down, steps behind the transparent curtains and dances as the rave music pumps forcefully out, is beautiful. It gives us a feel of that rave scene that Emma is exploring, lost fully in the moment, in the music. 

Throughout Baby Cousland‘s sound is always there, always supporting the delivery. At times it’s a soft thud, as if she is in another room with the rave happening through the wall; at times Emma is shouting to be heard over it, but the balance is perfect so we never have to strain to hear her words. Likewise Angelo Sagnelli‘s lighting is spot on. The flashing lights for the rave, the spotlights for Emma to stand in at other times. And it’s all superbly directed by writer Jones. 

The last piece of the jigsaw is Theo Vasiloudes‘ set design, which works effectively without being intrusive. Three large speakers that Walker moves around with ease, giving lie to their hefty appearance, transform the space dependent on her needs. 

The Late Utopians is not the first play of my EdFringe that explores what happens when people finally decide that those with the power are holding it not for the masses but for the elite. As the opening line tells us, this is an attempt to give meaning to why people are pushed to take drastic action when all else seems lost to them. And it succeeds in doing just that. 

Written and directed by Alfie Jones
Produced and dramaturgy by Kyndall Sillanpaa
Lighting design by Angelo Sagnelli
Set design by Theo Vasiloudes
Sound design by Baby Cousland
Prouduced by Alex Payne and Nicole A. Brodeur for Coggia

The Late Utopians plays at Underbelly Cowgate until Sunday 30 August as part of EdFringe.