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Theatre

Game, Almeida

23 Feb 15 – 04 Apr 15, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

An exciting world premiere from Charles III playwright Mike Bartlett explores the contemporary housing crisis with themes of voyeurism and surveillance. 

By Lucy Brooks on 15/9/2014

Game, Almeida Theatre: photo by Keith Pattison
Game, Almeida Theatre: photo by Keith Pattison
Game, Almeida Game, Almeida Lucy Brooks
★★★★★
Game
is the newest work by Mike Bartlett, who is fast becoming one of Britain's most prolific and successful young playwrights. At just 34, he has written a string of thought-provoking and powerful plays that capture a distinctively 21st century zeitgeist. 
His most compelling plays are either sweeping State of the Union epics, such as Earthquakes in London and the recent Almeida sellout and West End transfer King Charles III, or intimate and tightly written, provocatively titled character pieces such as Cock and its companion  Bull. 
Staging the housing crisis
Game focuses on a young couple trying to create a home in the context of the current housing crisis.  When offered a house, a moral and ethical dilemma unfolds as the couple discover how far they are willing to go to retain it, and at what personal cost. Played by Jodie McNee, Three Winters (National Theatre) and Mike Noble, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (National Theatre) the young couple fuse their mix of child-like excitement followed by their respective symptoms of frustration and disillusionment expertly.
The Almeida has been completely transformed for the purpose of Mike Bartlett's, latest play: audiences are ushered in to one of four zones, given headphones and watch the show unfold as if from behind the screens. "Big Brother" has found its stage. 
In a dark twist, it transpires that the couple are to become targets in a futile hunt, where richer people pay to enter the zones, lurk and strike with tranquilliser darts that disable the targets, momentarily making them unconscious. Privacy is defunct: the surveillance and the "game" appear never ending, moments of intimacy are interrupted and even the couple's 9 year old son isn't exempt from the hunt.
Miriam Buether, set design
Like the audience, the "hunters" are never seen on stage and only observe their targets from behind the screen: we are somehow, uncomfortably, complicit in the sense of voyeurism that the gauze screen invokes. As expected from Sacha Wares and Miriam Buether, the director-designer duo behind Wild Swans at the Young Vic, the staging is inventive: removing us from and involving us in the action the same time. The production itself undoubtedly a triumph. 
Game, Almeida, Review
All in all, Game makes for disturbing, but intriguing viewing. It's predictably clever writing from Bartlett. He grapples with a number of  pertinent issues beyond the housing crisis: the morality of surveillance and of hunting, the indulgence of adult fantasy, the ethical boundaries of entertainment, unemployment, suicide amongst soldiers, the addictiveness of gaming.... However, by the end, you can't help but feel that staging aside, the ambitious number of multifarious ingredients are at risk of disengaging from the dramatic momentum and falling, discussed but disunited as the audience remove headphones and breathe a sigh of relief. This aside, we were engrossed. 





What Game, Almeida
Where Almeida Theatre, Almeida Street, Islington, London, N1 1TA | MAP
Nearest tube Angel (underground)
When 23 Feb 15 – 04 Apr 15, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Price £16-£30
Website Click here to book via the Almeida



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  • About the Almeida Theatre

    The Almeida has a formidable reputation for producing new work, boasting international clout and regularly attracting the biggest names in theatre. The building has recently been taken over by artistic director Rupert Goold, who comes fresh from eight years as artistic director of critically acclaimed touring theatre company Headlong. The building is situated at the heart of a buzzing theatre scene in Islington, alongside other venues such as Sadler’s Wells, the Old Red Lion, the Little Angel Theatre and the King’s Head.

    This new season is united by an examination of worth and value against capitalist concepts. Along with this premiere from Mike Bartlett there's the first London outing of Simon Stephen's newest play, Carmen Disruption (which reimagines Bizet's opera), The Fever, a site-specific monologue by Wallace Shawn performed in the Mayfair Hotel and a madcap Merchant of Venice relocated to Vegas, directed by Rupert Goold.

    UNDER 30?

    Those not yet in their third decade can take advantage of the Almeida's discount scheme. You can bag the best seats available for just £18 each every Monday of the run if you use the discount code: UNDER30. Remember to bring proof of id with you to the performance.

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We recommend nearby

  • Ottolenghi, Islington

    Supper fare at Ottolenghi includes the likes of pan-fried octopus and slow-roasted Cabrito goat, with a wide range of vegetarian options inspired by the flavours of the Mediterranean and Near East. They don't take bookings, though, so we recommend getting in early.

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