Review: Robot Penguin, The Bull Wanstead

Wanstead Fringe

I’m not venturing too far out for this show as I’m going very local for a double bill at east London’s Wanstead Fringe Festival, now in its 10th year. It’s an utter joy to be enjoying theatre in a nearby town, above the grand, but exceedingly cosy, pub The Bull. This is the second show of tonight’s double bill and this bill is attached to a penguin. A Robot Penguin no less. The flyer describes the play as bizarre and irreverent and it’s really not wrong. Producer Baloney Theatre Company’s tagline is ‘Making change one absurd play at a time’ and their second offering tonight is a perfect example of just that.

The neurodivergent writer, performer and star of the play is Andrew Atha. An MA graduate from Mountview Academy of Theatre, he’s the winner of this year’s Baloney Award, an amazing opportunity given by the company to one student that allows them to perform for free at the festival. This chance is not lost on Atha who has not only written a funny and digitally eye-opening script but is one to watch, with his genuinely funny performance bursting with heartwarming moments and a piercing, sometimes melancholic truth.

The staging is a toddler’s paddling pool, a large screen and Atha, in full penguin costume with added camera. This is Emperor Spy CamA10N3 and he’s returned from an Antarctic investigation for the BBC. It’s time for the performance review from his undercover adventure, and this is what we see played out, covering his infiltration of colony life, his struggle to adapt into their complex society and his ponderings in a quest to decipher his feelings toward one of its subjects.

I loved how much there is to learn about actual penguin behaviour in this show, although sometimes this could have benefited from balancing more evenly with the emotions behind the struggle, which I enjoyed later on in the script. With a little tightening up of those factual moments, I think what is to come will be even more powerful.

As we experience life through his lens, Atha encapsulates a perfect metaphor for feeling like you’re not fitting in, for communicating in a different way to those around you and feeling detached. There are some beautifully written, moving monologues in the piece and his performance is warm, charismatic and flawless. Work like this proves that The Bull is a great spot for some fringe theatre and I’ll definitely be back. 

Written by Andrew Atha
Stage Manager/ technician: Beckett Gray
Produced by: Baloney Theatre Company

Robot Penguin plays at Wanstead Fringe until 22 September. Further information can be found here.