Stand is a new verbatim theatre project commisioned by the Oxford Playhouse and created by Chris Goode and Company. It is work ‘celebrating Oxford as the home of Radical Thinking’. Interviewed people tell stories of bravery large and small. Six selected stories of people who chose to take a stand, to act, to change the world for the better, are presented in the outcome show.
Six tall chairs stand in a straight line awaiting performers, as if we’re in a studio awaiting some political debate to take place. The simplicity of set design (by Naomi Dawson) is highlighted by cool blue lighting (designed by Anna Watson) and a plain backdrop to each chair.
As the actors enter and take their seats the first surprise comes: performers do not know their lines and it is more of a ‘script reading’ evening than a fully realised show. Why reading? I have seen verbatim performances delivered with scripts ‘in hand’, but performers were not trying to be ‘in characters’. If the text is only related to us by actors, there is no need for detailed costume design and in-depth interpretation. On the other hand – if performers are to convey to us that they ‘are’ characters they portray, there is no need for scripts in hand. The convention of verbatim would remain clearly understood.
The show starts a bit staccato, as if there is a trace of awkwardness in the interviewees to open up and to start talking, but after that initial glitch stories flow smoothly and audience often responds to their subtle humour with open laughter.
Apart from the stories about ‘taking a stand’ on a large or small scale, we also hear more than a fair amount of characters’ back stories: their background and childhood. These, to be fair to the creators, allow us to see human details of the characters, to picture them ‘fully formed’, yet on the other hand, they seem unnecessary, long and demand patient endurance on, suddenly, very hard seats.
However on the whole the stories are interesting, moving and very positive despite various successful rates of their outcomes.
Perhaps a pinch of frustration that always comes with ‘David against Goliath’ type of struggles would have added more truth to the script, but we certainly would have lost the beaming hope and enthusiasm.
Towards the end lights in the audience come up and we and the actors are joined together, highlighting the fact that these brave, wonderful, funny and inspiring people are just like us, that they are among us, and we can take a stand as well, any stand, of any calibre.
But, quoting one of the characters: ‘I’ll shut up now. I’m not here for converting.’ The show is though. Go and see it.
Stand runs at Battersea Arts Centre till 9th of May.
By Anna Mors
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