Earthquakes in London

Synopsis

Burlesque strip shows, bad dreams, social breakdown, population explosion, worldwide paranoia. A fast and furious metropolitan crash of people, scenes and decades, as three sisters attempt to navigate their dislocated lives and loves, while their dysfunctional father, a brilliant scientist, predicts global catastrophe. Nothing I do means anything certainly and that’s depressing. But also, nothing I do is going to be the end of the world. There’s a comfort in that. An all-pervasive fear of the future and a guilty pleasure in the excesses of the present drive Mike Bartlett’s epic rollercoaster of a play from 1968 to 2525 and back again. It’s Cabaret, we’ve got our heads down and we’re dancing and drinking as fast as we can. The enemy is on its way, but this time it doesn’t have guns and gas it has storms and earthquakes, fire and brimstone. You were the glimmer. At the end of the tunnel. And you went out.

Our Review:

Anne Morley-Priestman - 8 November 2011

The programme notes make great play with the word “epic”. Allowing for a vibrant production by Rupert Gooold and Caroline Steinbeis within a stunning and cunning set by Miriam Buether (the split-second timings imposed by her double-revolve must pose enormous stage management problems for venues on this tour), “panorama’ – in the old sense with its magic lantern associations – is perhaps more apposite.

At the heart of Mike Bartlett’s play is a modern family. Like many such, in real life as on stage, it’s dysfunctional. We meet Robert as an altruistic young environmental scientist and as his older opt-out self. He has had three daughters with Grace; Sarah – a high-flying politician, Freya – a special-needs teacher whose name tells you all about her (if you know your Nordic mythology), and Jasmine – a free spirit teenager with just as many hang-ups as anyone else.

Each of the elder two has a husband....

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