Review: Theatre

The Uncommercial Traveller, Punchdrunk, Pearson Street, Hackney

Too-short. Promises a good deal but leaves you wanting more. A brief snapshot of Dickens' nineteenth century London, inspired by his walks around London. Brilliant evocations, feeling more like an art installation than theatre, I became mixed up with a baby farm. I was led from tavern down dilapidated steps into a tiny cubicle with cot, a bank of bottles and a small camp-sized bed. The dilemma as to whether to administer ‘a compound’ to the baby or not became the nub of the drama; other stories were acted out elsewhere……Working on brief character sketches, the cast of 4 improvised around the themes of transportation and death, reliant on a biddable, credible crowd to help flesh things out. There is a downloadable walk-scape made up of monologues which is separate to the theatre experience which I haven't done. So maybe this is the difference. For you get into the style of theatre, and just as your eyes become accustomed to the dark, it’s all over. One salient punter put it thus: ‘it’s like a neat shot of gin, short, sharp and to the point’….Hmm, I can’t help but feel the feel of wool…..