Fret Jet markets itself as an airline that handles your internal angst, one that can deal with your sharp pangs of guilt.
Mind you, as the stewardesses so neatly point out before we are asked to walk through baggage control, the internal turmoil on our route this evening is only mild.
But is it?
A stray bag causes chaos and a flight delay, which in turn triggers ructions among security, baggage handlers and airline staff.
While trying to calm us – the passengers – they are all at sea and often testing one another.
The piece de resistance comes when an arrogant, self-waggrandising author, who, surprisingly, also appears to oversee the airline, chucks a wobbly.
His book launch has been upended by the delay and he is out to ensure heads will roll.
In the meantime, we – the audience – are empowered to rid ourselves of our feelings of insecurity and disgust, courtesy of some cortex calisthenics.
All this is theatre of the absurd.
Our trip starts with an enthusiast flight attendant and two of her colleagues welcoming us in a style all their own, involving humour and song.
But before that, we are asked to fill out a unique boarding pass, which contains questions such as:
· Do you think anyone might be mad at you?
· Are you sure?
· Do you intend to make anyone mad at you in the next 12 months?
Don’t fret. It is all part of the glorious hoot that follows and you can use a false name or moniker.
All The Things We’ve Done is immersive, interactive theatre.
It has been written with tongues firmly planted in cheeks by Kate Speakman and Aleksandr Corke, and is directed by the latter.
The nine strong cast “performs” in a series of spaces, which we walk through (there are also seats to take the weight off while we await boarding).
They are a colourful lot, courtesy of costume designer Oli Lacoon Williamson.
Set designer Rachel Nankin ensures that Theatre Works is transformed into an airport.
At times the action takes place concurrently in more than one area, through which we can wander freely.
I appreciated the jumble of ideas thrown together to form a creative blancmange.
The cast revels in the tomfoolery as they engage in a war of words with each other and speak directly to individual flyers.
They enjoy clowning around and dealing with the traumas that are at the heart of this production.
All The Things We’ve Done is weird, wacky and a touch wonderful – a walk on the wild side.
And on the way out, we even get the chance to read just how enterprising other passengers are, courtesy of a tree of boarding cards.
The hour-long offering is on at Theatre Works until 2nd November, 2024.
Kommentarer