Islands, Bush Theatre

Culture Whisper says: * *

Below is our preview, explaining the background of the show. Click here to read our Islands, Bush Theatre, review.

The show...

A collection of monstrous figures cluster on stage— wearing fezzes and bras for hats, aprons and string vests, these are the inhabitants of Islands. The gang is on a mission to get rich and get powerful. "We'll be the politicians now!" one monster declares. This is a black comedy with an even blacker message. $18.5 trillion is lost every year in tax havens across the world. “This is my world, I am the king so I make the rules and everyone else can f**k off. This is off-shore.” It's a crazy physical work heavily influenced by French bouffon theatre — the art of mockery.

The background...

Creator Caroline Horton was inspired by the economic crisis: "I’m fascinated by people’s efforts to create separate little worlds for themselves that cut off from wider society." Her recent show Mess was a manic, no-holds-barred examination of anorexia. The chaos is all painstakingly choreographed, and perfectly captures the sufferer's need for control. It was during the tour of Mess two years ago that she first had the idea for Islands.

In this play with songs, no one has to pay for anything. It is as 'off-shore' as you can possibly get, offering a hilarious and frightening commentary on the nature of greed. But don't expect this to be traditional 'issue-based' theatre. "I was determined not to make something earnest or po-faced" insists  Horton.

The Olivier nominated theatre maker has assembled a fascinating group of creatives that include China Plate Theatre (whose recent touring Macbeth has been a huge success), a member of the Tax Justice Network— an elite group of activists fighting to reduce tax avoidance— and Selma Dimitrijevic, a talented playwright and dramaturg from Greyscale Theatre.