Culture Theatre

Banksy: The Room in the Elephant at the Arcola Theatre

Banksy: The Room in the Elephant at the Arcola Theatre | Theatre review

For those familiar with Banksy, the inversion of the phrase “the elephant in the room” is recognisably characteristic of his wry playfulness. Banksy: The Room in the Elephant, however, is about neither the artist nor his sense of humour (although it was probably these traits that piqued your curiosity).

The play is in fact about 50-something vagrant Tachowa Covington, whose life became commoditised after his settlement of seven years – a disused water tank abandoned in the LA countryside – became the latest object of Banksy’s graffiti work. After the words “THIS LOOKS A BIT LIKE AN ELEPHANT” were found spray painted across the water tank in February 2011, LA design firm Mint Currency decided to cash in on the local Banksy-branded art exhibit, removing it from its site. Banksy’s disruptive graffiti art consequently caused an unforeseen form of disruption in Covington’s life – he was left without a home. As compensation, the art world offered him a stage.

There is something quite unsettling about watching this artistic imagining of Covington’s story, despite its LA appeal of turning him into a household name, for all he really wanted was his home back. Perhaps this feeling of malaise is intentional on the part of the playwright Tom Wainwright, who may have used the Banksy name to lure audiences in, in order to expose their hypocrisy.

On the one hand, Gary Beadle’s stirring interpretation of Covington’s plight elicits disgust for the art world’s cruel capitalism; on the other hand, we are complicit in this land grab for Covington’s story. In fact, there is a lingering suspicion that our interest ultimately stems from Covington’s minor association with Banksy, whose Midas touch fascinates us in its ability to turn junk into gold (in both artistic and monetary senses) through the simple stroke of a spray can. Overtones of Bristolian culture betray the Banksy theme, through Wainwright’s origins and through the play’s trip-hop soundtrack.

Our discomfort is assuaged by Hal Samples’ documentary Something from Nothing, which succeeds the play, and which purports to present a more truthful account to the viewer. We are asked to contemplate the relationship between journalism and art, and the balancing act between truth and subverting the medium of art. The two pieces together form a stimulating intellectual ride, although, at times, it is tough to consistently follow.

Lena Anayi
Photos: Richard Davenport

Banksy: The Room in the Elephant is at Arcola Theatre until 26th April 2014. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for  Banksy: The Room in the Elephant here:

More in Theatre

The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare’s Globe

Sophia Moss

Girl from the North Country at the Old Vic

Antonia Georgiou

Till the Stars Come Down at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Jim Compton-Hall

Noughts & Crosses at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Ruweyda Sheik-Ali

Wilko: Love and Death and Rock ‘n’ Roll at Leicester Square Theatre

Antonia Georgiou

Diamonds and Dust at the Emerald Theatre

Sophia Moss

Moby Dick at Tower Theatre

Benedetta Mancusi

Evita at London Palladium

Antonia Georgiou

Underbelly Boulevard Soho announces Fringe Fix programme for post-Edinburgh season

The editorial unit