Review: Now Not Now, Tramway

MacAskill and Cade‘s new production, Now Not Now, premiers at Tramway in Glasgow, before moving to London for a short run at the Southbank Centre. 

Absurdist in style, the piece explores the inconsistencies of time, simultaneously taking place on one morning and on several. It aims to discombobulate the audience, leaving us without a concrete sense of where we are, when the scene is taking place, or what is happening. 

Performed by Rosana Cade and Ivor MacAskill, who created the show alongside Tim Spooner and Yas Clarke, they embody heightened personas. Cade and MacAskill are not exactly acting as such, as they explicitly refer to their own names throughout the performance. 

There is a long introduction before the scene begins, with the performers drawing attention to the fact that they are on stage, and repeating the phrase “it’s happening now”. This desire to be meta is a consistent theme throughout, but is not particularly effective in any instance. It is unclear whether the aim is to alienate the audience or to include them, as the show seems to indicate a universality in its themes and ideas. 

Once the action begins, the script is made up of a mixture of internal monologues, very slow and deliberately incoherent dialogue, and a few rare moments of genuine connection between the two characters. There is no clear time frame, and a very similar scene is repeated several times, using different tech elements to vary the speed and perspective. Most prominent is the use of a large projector screen, managed by video consultant Daniel Hughes. This sometimes highlights what is happening on stage, for example by showing close-ups of the actors’ expressions, and sometimes shows something else entirely, giving the audience two points of focus. 

The set and costume design is consistent with the show’s themes; everything is almost as you’d expect, but not quite. We are almost in a normal kitchen, but everything is covered in green plastic, while outfits are almost ordinary, except the ties are far too long, and neither performer is wearing trousers. 

It is clear that the element of repetition throughout is a choice, aiming to highlight the idea of the real meaning of life getting lost in the monotony of everyday tasks. However, it slowly begins to lose effect and becomes tedious, especially as no new points are really being made. This is a persistent problem, as there is also far too much repetition of comedic gags and movement sequences. It is advertised as being ninety minutes long, but ends up closer to two hours, and the same point could have been made in a production that was at least half the length. 

Cade and MacAskill both have strong presence, and manage to keep the energy up, but ultimately they are let down by the show’s content. It features some poignant themes, including aging, the breakdown of relationships, and letting go of what you know, but unfortunately they are not explored in a way that is particularly interesting or engaging. 

There is clear potential here, but in order to progress the show needs to decide what it wants to be. It needs to commit to its aim to confuse the audience, and resist the temptation to be overly explanatory. As it is, the audience is being constantly told exactly what they are meant to be thinking, leading to a lack of nuance and creating an inability to empathise with the piece.

Created by Rosana Cade, Ivor MacAskill, Tim Spooner, Yas Clarke
Lighting Design by Michaella Fee
Production Manager: Craig Fleming, SNC Productions
Produced by Sarah Gray
Technical Stage Manager: Craig McNeill
Video Consultant and caption design by Daniel Hughes
Outside Eye: Nic Green, Mamoru Iriguchi
Movement Advisor: Mele Broomes
Audio Description: Jonathan Penny

Now Not Now plays at Tramway until Saturday 31 October, before transferring to the Southbank Centre until Friday 6 November.