The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


CultureTheatre

Secret Theatre – Show 1 at the Lyric

Secret Theatre – Show 1 at the Lyric | Theatre review
14 September 2013
Sarah Milton
Sarah Milton
Avatar
Sarah Milton
14 September 2013

Show 1 is part of the Secret Theatre season being held at The Lyric, Hammersmith with Sean Holmes at the helm of the project that distracts from and uses areas of the building in an innovative way while a major refurbishment takes place. The concept is that you buy a ticket not knowing what, who or where you will watch until after the show has finished.

If you don’t want to know what the secret of Show 1 is, read no further.

David Harrower’s version of the famously unfinished German play Woyzeck, by George Buchner, is presented to us on the main stage. This is the story of the bizarre, vague adventure of Franz Woyzeck (Billy Seymour), a lowly soldier who undertakes medical experiments for extra cash to support his partner Marie (Katherine Pierce) and their unblessed child. His mental health breaks down due to a diet of just peas which he eats as part of an experiment, and the rest of the cast become a crazed figment of his imagination. Marie tires of her partner and finds a renewed passion with a drum major (Charlotte Josephine), causing a jealous Woyzeck to attack and kill her. In this version, Woyzeck is seen simply returning to his examination room and continuing with routine, seemingly unfazed.

Occasional Brechtian addresses to the audience, direct from Woyzeck, attempt to include a perplexed audience who are left feeling as though they’ve invaded and watched a rather emotional rehearsal. Amateur moments (the ensemble eating from bowls and clambering over each other) are saved by the commitment of the cast and their individually strong intentions. However, the production simply doesn’t advance far enough into the audience’s minds, and is very much a presentation of opinion rather than of mutual involvement.

Sean Holmes’ direction of older texts is typically experimental and abstract. Previous productions of Desire Under the Elms (at the Lyric) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (for Filter Theatre) have astounded audiences and critics alike, but Show 1 is indulgent, unjustified and disregards its audience. Seymour’s childlike voice is endearing in the role of Woyzeck, but the concept of the piece swallows the individual performers’ charms. It comments on so many social arguments that its purpose is fogged and randomised. Secret Theatre’s manifesto states: “We hope confusion can be revealing” – in Show 1, it unfortunately is not.

Verdict: ★★★★★ 

Sarah Milton

Secret Theatre – Show 1 is on at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith until 4th October 2013, for further information or to book visit here.

Watch a trailer for Secret Theatre here:

Related Items

More in Theatre

Tacenda

★★★★★
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Read More

Soft Animals at Soho Theatre

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Cyprus Avenue at the Royal Court Theatre

★★★★★
Musanna Ahmed
Read More

Only Fools and Horses: The Musical at Theatre Royal Haymarket

★★★★★
Ghazaleh Golpira
Read More

Shipwreck at Almeida Theatre

★★★★★
Connor Campbell
Read More

Come From Away at Phoenix Theatre

★★★★★
Connor Campbell
Read More

Mortified

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Armour

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Berberian Sound Studio at the Donmar Warehouse

★★★★★
Mersa Auda
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Marighella
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Jeremy Loops and James Hersey at the Roundhouse
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • STEVE O SMITH autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don’t Know Me
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Aftermath premiere: On the red carpet with Keira Knightly, Alexander Skarsgård, director James Kent and cast
    Cinema
  • Tacenda
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Elizabethan Treasures at the National Portrait Gallery
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Soft Animals at Soho Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Win Schindler’s List 25th anniversary edition on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray™
    Competitions
  • The Aftermath premiere: On the red carpet with Keira Knightly, Alexander Skarsgård, director James Kent and cast
    Cinema
  • Elizabethan Treasures at the National Portrait Gallery
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Soft Animals at Soho Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Aftermath premiere: On the red carpet with Keira Knightly, Alexander Skarsgård, director James Kent and cast
    Cinema
  • Cyprus Avenue at the Royal Court Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Only Fools and Horses: The Musical at Theatre Royal Haymarket
    ★★★★★
    Theatre

Instagram

Something is wrong.
Instagram token error.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd

Caitlin Rose at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire | Live review
Damson & Co | Restaurant review