Panic

Our Review:

17 April 2009

Improbable have never before been part of bite at the Barbican, so their new show about the Great God Pan – and the little god Pan, too, with his cheeky smile, gimlet eye and hairy haunches – is a landmark of sorts.

All sorts, in fact, as Panic – directed and designed by Julian Crouch and Lee Simpson – is a mixture of confessional anecdotage, historical summary, cut-out home-made imagery and phallocentric fellowship.

Phelim McDermott is clearly Pan, bright-eyed, curly-headed and paunchy, and he’s soon Pan in pants, stripping down to his underwear. His three nymphs are Angela Clerkin, long-time Improbable member, Phelim’s former PA Lucy Foster, and aerial artist – she twists down as a nocturnal vision at one point – Matilda Leyser.

I’d never thought of Pan having prostate problems before, but McDermott is soon telling us about them, and transporting us from the forest to his apartment in Brixton which is crammed with self-help books, one o...

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Latest User Review

Gareth James - 25 April 2009:

April must me my month for disappointments. Earlier in the month that other highly inventive company Kneehigh disappointed and now so do Improbable. Despite a welcome return to a smaller scale, in this case the magic that normally results from their unique working method hasn't emerged. It has its moments, but not enough of them to sustain 100 unbroken minutes, and the central theme - the god Pan - just doesn't provide the glue to stick it all together. Part of the problem with both groups is that their success may be leading to too much work which may be leading to a higher degree of recycling old ideas. Maybe their new audience are getting the experience their old audience got 10+ years ago? ...

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