Talking People At Bush Theatre Review
The five-star hit ‘Talking People’ returned to Bush Theatre tonight. Originally set for a trio of performance in April, it will now also be doing a five day run in June. This unique theatre production blends improvisation with audience participation. Each night will delve into individual scenarios that explore connection, emotion, and the universal truths that unite us all.
Walking into the theatre, the three cast members are sat on chairs facing the audience. Director Richard Vincent facilitates the first half by introducing the actors and the concept: together as audience and actors we will create the narrative in the first half and see the story unfold in the second half. Richard asks questions to the cast of their characters so we get an understanding of their background and current lives, before opening this up to the audience. Richard and the audience member asking the question can choose whether all hear the answer or whether the others can’t hear it. There are other techniques too such as a bag of paper prompts or the use of playing cards to determine how happy a character is.
I’ve been to improv shows before where audience suggestions are taken at the start – ‘ShowStopper! The Improvised Musical’ and ‘Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel’ come to mind. This is the first time where I’ve seen the audience really dive into the creation of the characters- what motivates them, what are their goals, and what are their spoken and unspoken thoughts. Some of the questions were great, but you could tell which audience members hadn’t paid attention as a few people asked questions where the answer had already been provided.
The scenario for my night was a couple who were pregnant, but the best friend revealed a secret that changed their lives. At the time of the intermission I was intrigued but not excited to see the performance in the second half as I felt some of the plot points had been a little cliched. After the hour of questioning and 15 minute intermission we saw a 30minute performance. The time went quite quickly and although it ended in the right place, initially I thought I would have liked more time in that world. Fortunately, we did get a glimpse as Richard asked the cast questions about where their characters are 3 years after those events.
The performers tonight were Zack Morris (Eastenders, Goosebumps), Milly Zero (Eastenders, Too Much) and Olivia Benjamin (An American in Austen, Father Brown). I liked how the mannerisms used in the first half continued into the second such as Milly’s hair twisting, or Olivia rubbing her temples and how towards the end the two ladies were displaying similar mannerisms. You could really see these characters as best friends with the shared looks, and the comfortability e.g. an off-stage change into PJs. I was most impressed with Zack’s performance, watching him move from confusion to anger to sadness and tears. It’s not all drama, as there were moments of laughter with some audience members even slapping their legs. It was fun to look around seeing people’s reactions.
Holding it in the 60 seat studio was a good choice as the 3 sided, 3 tiered space provided an intimate feel. It really did feel that we were a fly on the wall. ‘Talking People’ is great for those studying acting, wanting to understand more about character development or anyone just interested in something a bit different. I appreciate that no two performances will be the same.
Talking People is produced by Elena Saleh and in association with The Sessions. It is presented as part of the Bush Theatre’s ALT B programme-a platform for creatives, makers and performers across artforms. The cast for other performances include: Ayoola Smart (Wheel of Time), Mohammed Mansaray (Boarders), Aliyah Odoffin (A Thousand Blows), Holli Dempsey (Black Mirror), Jason York (Dreaming Whilst Black), Landry Adelard, Kenturah Chambers, Tegen Short, Clea Martin and Steve Rain.
Talking People is sold out for April 8th and 9th but has plenty of availability for 23-27 June at 7:15pm. Tickets are £15-25.
Address: Bush Theatre, Uxbridge Road, W12 8LJ.
Website: https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/alt-b-talking-people
Phone: 020 8743 5050 (Monday to Saturday, 4pm – 8pm).
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bushtheatre
Written by Caitlin Neal
