Should You Trust This Madcap And Bizarre Play?

Trust, Gate Theatre ★★★☆☆

By Sam Smith Last edited 72 months ago

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Should You Trust This Madcap And Bizarre Play? Trust, Gate Theatre 3

If you like theatre with a plot, avoid Falk Richter's Trust like the plague. Premiering just after the financial collapse, it links personal trust and change to global systems and economics, and is bizarre from start to finish.

A series of vignettes explores the relationships between couples (all played by Pia Laborde Noguez and Zephryn Taitte), and also sees a third character commentate on collapsing systems and impending doom. The mini-lectures on their own do not make great theatre, and linking them to the couples is thwarted by the fact that external commentaries make it hard to get inside characters.

The experience is improved by Jude Christian's staging, which plays up the theatricality for all its worth. Props and signs are introduced to clearly marked points, use is made of music and YouTube videos, and there is some mild audience interaction. This helps to immerse the viewer to the point that Trust is worth seeing, provided, of course, that you are inclined to revel in its madcap nature to begin with.

Trust, Gate Theatre, 11 Pembridge Road, Notting Hill Gate, W11 3HQ, £15-20 Until 17 March

Last Updated 02 March 2018