Privacy

This wasn’t at all what I was expecting from James Graham, whose last play This House was a brilliant and funny examination of mid-70s British politics. It’s a combination of verbatim theatre & illustrated lecture rather than a play, which is difficult to talk about without spoiling it.

Graham has clearly done his research; in fact, he’s the central character of the piece, relating his experiences during the research and bringing onto the stage the people he interviewed (played by actors) to present their evidence. The director also appears as a character, so we get a peep at their interactions during the development of the piece. You learn a lot about how exposed we are with the internet & WiFi, social media and loyalty cards sharing so much of our lives. Not all of this was new to me, but a lot was and some of it shook me.

It’s inventively staged, with the back wall becoming a giant screen for recorded and live footage & graphics and there’s a ‘researcher’ live on stage. There’s much audience participation, requiring you to keep your smartphones on in silent mode. There was at least one moment when I regretted my own too willing participation! The first half is rather clever, making its points lightly but effectively, but it turns more serious in the second half, which works less well. At 2h45m, it needs some cuts and overall more structure, but its still in preview so there’s time to deal with this. it’s well cast with Joshua McGuire an excellent ‘writer’ and a handful of other actors playing everyone else – and there’s a lot of them.

Despite its faults, I learnt a fair bit and was entertained for much of the time. I suspect it will tighten up by press night. Whatever else, the subject is overdue for proper examination and this theatrical presentation brings a lot into the open. Less than 36 hours later and I appear to have developed more scepticism and caution and I may well change my ways as a result!