UFO – REVIEW
Image: James Harding in UFO by Griffin Theatre Company. Image: Lucy Parakhina
Bold, imaginative and creative, re:group’s UFO at the Griffin Theatre shakes up conventional theatre while delving into our inner selves as we face the fear of the unknown.
From the pen of Kirby Medway, and under the direction of Solomon Thomas, UFO uses a mix of live and pre-recorded video feeds combined with stop-motion miniatures to tell its story of four young people who have been tasked to watch a large UFO that has landed on a suburban golf course.
What should be an exciting job turns out to be indeterminably boring as they repeatedly note down the sequence of flashing lights emanating from the object —and they have to do this with pen and paper as using bluetooth could disrupt the craft.
The miniatures are set on three tableau which the actors walk around, investigating with their cameras and communicating with each other in mesmerising monotonal voices.
Drawing on the kitschy elements of Thunderbirds and the tension between humans and technology tropes of Blake’s 7, the actors are part of the play while at the same time being the manipulators of the figures as their theories about the object and the future unfold.
Underscoring the theme of new technology and what it means to human kind is the age old issue of job repetitiveness and exploitation under the direction of uncaring management.
The set design, movement of figures and general staging is perfectly suited to the small space the the SBW Stables Theatre offers, and helps draw the audience into what is ultimately a thrilling experience.
Lighting, sound design and music take their cues from sci-fi gone before and add tension and texture to the artificial setting that we quickly become engaged with.
Re:group have taken new technology to the stage that has in the past been seen in larger scale and bigger budget events such as North by Northwest and The Picture of Dorian Gray and made it more accessible and intimate, while pointing the way that future theatre can interact with technology, opening up endless possibilities.
