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

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

Beyond Caring at the Yard

Beyond Caring at the Yard | Theatre review
6 July 2014
Johanna Eliasson
Avatar
Johanna Eliasson
6 July 2014

It is in the backspace of a sausage factory that Beyond Caring‘s clashing personalities are gathered for a temporary cleaning job on a zero-hour contract. Portrayed at the Yard Theatre, the employees and manager try to get along and do their designated work. Each has their burden: one is ill, one is poor and two of them can’t see their children. The aesthetics of the stage, with its scabby industrial look and fluorescent lights, stretches out into the crowd in the amphitheatre. This is somewhat distracting at times, since you are always aware of your surrounding onlookers.

Beyond Caring includes several raw moments, some heart-breaking and some thrilling. The cleaning strangers are stuck together in the uninviting room, and awkward conversations take place to try and mute the silence. The play often leaves the viewer feeling uncomfortable, not only in the conversations but also for example when the first actor appears onstage: Phil (Sean O’Callagan) quietly walks across the room, seemingly deep in thoughts, and then there is nothing for several minutes. The silence and stillness is almost unbearable and many in the audience are clearly ill at ease.

The struggles of the underdog are central to Beyond Caring. Anyone who has had a small job or a bully boss will see themselves in these characters. The actors vividly convey the little to non-existent appreciation you get from that kind of job, and the frustration of having no power over your situation while being met with exploitation and discrimination. Above this darker layer there is the lighter one, with heart-warming moments as the characters become friends, as well as many invitations for laughter. The actors skilfully alternate between these two states and create a balance that comes out very well.

Beyond Caring delivers a bang-on depiction of frustration and powerlessness. At times amusing, at others shocking, Alexander Zeldin (writer/director) brings you on a little journey through memories of a serf-job you once had, or if you never had one, a journey to the realistic everyday for many, many people.

★★★★★

Johanna Eliasson

Beyond Caring is at the Yard Theatre until 26th July 2014. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for the show here:

Related Itemsalex zeldinbeyond caringplayreviewyard

More in Theatre

Evelyn at Southwark Playhouse

★★★★★
Jim Compton-Hall
Read More

Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World at Theatre Royal Stratford East

★★★★★
Natallia Pearmain
Read More

King Lear at Shakespeare’s Globe

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

This Is Not Who I Am/Rapture at the Royal Court Theatre

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

“Flamenco is a race where there is no end – you never stop learning”: An interview with Manuel Liñán on ¡Viva! at the Sadler’s Wells Flamenco Festival 2022

Jessica Wall
Read More

Jitney at the Old Vic

★★★★★
Jonathan Marshall
Read More

“The fact a play as relevant as Jitney is not known outside of the US is criminal”: An interview with Sule Rimi on starring in August Wilson’s Jitney at the Old Vic

Jonathan Marshall
Read More

The Car Man at the Royal Albert Hall

★★★★★
Jim Compton-Hall
Read More

Ben Delacreme Is… Ready to Be Committed at Leicester Square Theatre

★★★★★
Jonathan Marshall
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Dates

1st July - 26th July 2014

Price

£10-£15

Links & directions

WebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Eagles bring a nostalgia-laden evening to the BST Festival in Hyde Park
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • “He used to spit at the audience, roll on the ground, he did, in fact, hump that plastic dog – he was the original punk rocker”: Baz Luhrman, Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, Olivia DeJonge and Alton Mason on Elvis
    Cinema & Tv
  • Tigers
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Baymax!
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • Parisian bar Little Red Door to take over Adam Handling’s Eve Bar on 7 July
    Food & Drinks
  • Netflix Walking Tour
    ★★★★★
    Cinema & Tv
  • Chelsea Flower Show 2022: Greenery and wellbeing
    Fashion & Lifestyle
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Netflix Walking Tour
    ★★★★★
    Cinema & Tv
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Rollings Stones give Glasto a run for its money at BST Festival in Hyde Park
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • “He used to spit at the audience, roll on the ground, he did, in fact, hump that plastic dog – he was the original punk rocker”: Baz Luhrman, Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, Olivia DeJonge and Alton Mason on Elvis
    Cinema & Tv
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

The Dandy Warhols at the O2 Brooklyn Bowl | Live review
The Great British Musicals – In Concert at the St James | Theatre review