Reader Reviews
Tropicana (Shunt, Inner London)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | The production, set in dark haunting vaults complimented by the loud clunking of machinery and sporadic alien cries, I assume is designed to intrigue and frighten but the only frightening moment comes with the realisation that you have another hour and a quarter of this trite to sit through. Simply awful. - 213.2.17.172) | 14 Feb 05 |
| An amazing experience, reminiscent of practitioner Artuad, bringing to life his writings and dreams. breaking many people's perceptions of conventinal theatre it leaves you feeling utterly bewildered, confused however totally inspired, I recomend you not to try and define it, for not all things can be articulated, merely appreciate it for what it is. I didn't feel it was meant to be something 'deep' or immediately understandable, merely thought provoking. Go with an open mind and expect the unexpected. - 195.93.21.70) | 06 Feb 05 |
| Yes, interesting to see the pro/anti divide on this one. I'm definitely pro, but then I almost automatically love anything placed in odd spaces and settings so I was an easy scalp for them, I suppose. I also love prolonged use of darkness in theatre and there's plenty of that in this piece. I disagree that things happening vaguely in the distance aren't interesting, I love theatre being able to pull off hints and suggestions of stuff like that (DreamThinkSpeak's Don't Look Back, at Somerset House, did this really well in summer 2004). I don't get the puzzlement of the WOS reviewer and some of the contributors here concerning what it's all about. You're born (squeezing through the cupboard), you wait around, people tell you things and instruct you on what to do, you wait around some more, you see stuff happen, then you die. Seems pretty straightforward to me. I do agree that the autopsy bit at the end felt a bit unnecessary, but for me that was more than balanced out by the whole experience. I'm going to go again and see if it's any different - not that I'll be disappointed if it isn't. - 194.82.50.2) | 03 Feb 05 |
| From reading some of the reviews its clear that there is, like with most theatre, a random response to a random piece of performance art. i enjoyed it but why i'm not so sure? I think its purpose isn't for anyone to say wheter they like it or not its merely an invitation to give surrealism a chance, and why not, its because your left speechless that the majority of people didn't rate it. What does it represent? what does it communicate? that is left for you as a 'participant' to decide because its left open. - 172.202.202.103) | 14 Dec 04 |
| It seems you either love it or hate it. Well, I'm neither ! Not as good as the wonderful Dance Bear Dance, but still highly original with much to enjoys (and in a wonderful venue). Go on, try it. - 81.134.81.210) | 04 Dec 04 |
| This is the third shunt event I have attended and Tropicana like all their other work is a completely unique and unmissable experience - those who are looking for a night out at the theatre - or those who attempt to understand it in a traditional manner are probably missing the point. From the moment I entered shunt's strange and beautiful world I was gripped. Immersive, electic and sexy. This is what theatre should be. - 81.153.97.28) | 09 Nov 04 |
| Pure, unadulterated crap. See this and Brighton Rock in the same week and you may never want to go to the theatre ever again. Shame on the NT for having anything to do with this disaster. - 66.32.107.163) | 07 Nov 04 |
| This was quite appalling. I have been to many site specific events - such as HG and the astonishing John Berger/Simon McBurney event at Aldwych tube a few years ago - and this had none of the imagination and flair that you experiences at such events. The space was not used properly. The script was impoverished. The visual element in the show was very poor. We were literally kept in the dark for far too long. And on top of all this was the naked commercialism so that not only was there a bar before the show, we had to endure a totally unnecessary interval for more drinks and then a third bar at the end. Utterly woeful. - 80.177.231.164) | 25 Oct 04 |
| I thought this was an amazing and exhilirating night of theatre. I only wish now that I had seen Dance Bear Dance if it was so much better than this. It was certainly uneven in parts (though it was still a preview), but overall it never stopped surprising and delighting me. I see a lot of theatre at the National but it's nice to see something totally creative and different once in awhile. Bravo to the National for giving this amazing company a higher profile - 81.153.186.171) | 18 Oct 04 |
| Well .... I thoroughly enjoyed (probably wrong word) the evening. From the moment I joined a queue of people being let in through a door with no real clue as to where I was going, until being let back out into the under-railway-arches night to find my way home I was engaged ENGAGED. Maybe I was being challenged as to what I accept as theatre, maybe I was in an east European dictatorship or a post Apocalyptic somewhere but I was certainly being asked to witness/react to an extreme environment. When I was asked to react to violence or death I was being challenged to laugh at it. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (217.43.175.39) | 05 Oct 04 |
| I'm utterly baffled by the lack of sheer unthusiasm in some of the responses. As for a lack of narrative or a poor use of space, I can only say that I completely disagree and thought it was one of the most exiting evenings of theatre I've experienced. During the show I witnessed, the audience was interacting, simultaneously experiencing the show together in joint excitement, in a way that theatre always claims to do but so often never does. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (165.124.28.35) | 30 Sep 04 |
| NOT CRAZY ENOUGH! The beginning was promising, the space itself amazing, but even though the show was visually rather nice and interesting at times, it never quite knew what to be, never quite took off, and simply fizzled out. There was such potential there. What a shame! I would have liked the performers to actually make real contact with their audience and express recognisable emotions at least some of the time. I would have liked to have been challenged by what I saw, even disturbed or offended. In stead, I was mildly amused, enjoyed the visuals, but walked away feeling like I had been witness to nothing in particular. Sure, there were obvious themes, even a kind of narrative, but these were only toyed with rather than truly explored. My friends and I felt that Shunt only scratched at the surface of such potent concepts as death/life and beauty/beast dichotomies, the lift as a symbol of travelling between realities, different levels of consciousness and different parts of the human psyche... to name but a few. The show did keep us talking all night... But that was mainly because we all felt it had not lived up to its potential. So, perhaps I'm just surprised that such a dull soup could be made from such wonderful ingredients. Shunt, BE BOLDER! - USER: Whatsonstage.com (212.38.178.94) | 28 Sep 04 |
| I came into this as Dance Bear Dance's number one fan. That piece was exciting, surprising, and it had a structure, a purpose and a series of visual punches that left me reeling. To say that Tropicana lacks these is to understate the sheer pointlessness of the whole enterprise. Yes, it is an immense disappointment, and I say this as one who counted himself as a fan of Shunt's work. For one thing, Shunt have forgotten about the audience. It's not a question of having an imagination (or an imaginative approach to spelling), but there has to be something to stimulate the imagination. Things half happening in the middle-distance in darkness is hardly inspiring. I also found the lack of any form of cohesion a big flaw. Clearly there was a plot and characters, but Shunt decided not to let us in on this for about an hour. Then when something actually did start to happen, it was impossible to make head or tail of it. I've heard that Shunt are still making the piece - I accept this is common practice in devising methodologies, but this is so precariously strung together that it's hard to imagine it ever lifting off. If I were you, I'd wait for their next piece once they've got this out of their systems. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (195.92.67.66) | 26 Sep 04 |
| Nul points! Avoid if you can - a meaningless indulgence along the lines of "oh, I've had a great idea - let's now have a New Orleans style funeral procession.....and why not add some dry ice...". The only, only redeeming feature is the chance to see inside the vaults - but that'll just make you think of how much better use could have been made of the location by a theatre group with some real ideas. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (81.152.183.30) | 25 Sep 04 |
| This is amazing if you dont see it then u will miss out! dont know wot u crazy people are talking about u have no imaginations!!!!!! - USER: Whatsonstage.com (80.3.32.6) | 23 Sep 04 |
| CCCCCRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZYYYYYYYY! SEE IT! - USER: Whatsonstage.com (80.3.32.6) | 23 Sep 04 |
| This is a totally uninspiring piece of theatre. The use of the wonderful space is wasted. The story - whatever form it took- was made so irrelevant, that in the end one has to ask what we were all doing there. If the aim was to provide an experience for the audience, surely that experience must be a positive one. We cannot leave the theatre thinking that it was all too dark, too uncomfortable, too long, or too dusty / wet. Honestly, I wanted to like this show. I wanted to participate in experiencing vital and new theatre breaking conventions, and I don't in the least care if I get dirty or tired in the process, but surely not bored! And I did get tired and bored because I was not provided with alternatives. So, in the end, I simply did not care: and that is the worst crime that can be committed in theatre. Was that the point? And if it was, why do it? Do we not have Big Brother to achieve that kind of dizzy heights? - USER: Whatsonstage.com (195.92.67.66) | 23 Sep 04 |
| I saw this tonight. It's completely nuts and I've really got no idea what it was about but that's all part of the craziness. Definitely go see it if you want something different and off the wall (people serving you beer through tiny holes in a door ... lifts that move horizontally) in a unique venue (a labyrinth of former wine vaults underneath London Bridge station). Difficult to say much about it without spoiling it, so I won't. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (195.92.67.76) | 20 Sep 04 |
| 10th Sept. Not really sure what to say about this show except SEE IT! A co - production with the NT it's like nothing I have ever seen - First preview last night was amazing. I don't want to spoil it for anyone by trying to explain it but suffice to say if you are after a completely new theatrical experience I can't recommend it highly enough. BOOK NOW - I have a feeling you'll regret it if you don't! - USER: Whatsonstage.com (195.92.67.76) | 20 Sep 04 |
| Tropicana intrigues from the moment you enter the vaults in which the "show" is staged. Unfortunately, the mise en scene & wonderful settign are all that could possibly intrigue or delight the audience. A few lacklustre acrobatic set pieces, wracked souls emoting in the dark,( shades of drama class) a truly appalling guitar solo, and some jiggery pokery with a fake cadaver do not a show make - and god it takes forever. If you want acrobatics, go to Cirque du Soleil, acting, the National proper. Turgid, dull, uninspiring, the lack of any tangible content, theatrical or otherwise, or vague spark of narrative thread means both that the audience's imagination has nothing to play with, and that this theatrical experience leaves the audience with both a numb heart and a numb bottom. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.35.56.45) | 12 Sep 04 |
