DV8 Physical Theatre - Can We Talk About This

Our Review:

13 March 2012

“This is shit! Islamaphobic shit!” shouts the man who has just burst into the Lyttleton auditorium. He throws something – it could be faeces – at the stage. The interruption sends a jolt through the room. Heads turn. Concentration snaps. The show pauses.

It must have been staged. The stagehand that appears with a dustpan and brush is slightly too quick off the mark. The protest itself chimes too neatly with the material. And yet, I can’t be 100% sure. That doubt proves the bravery and potency of DV8’s danced documentary on multiculturalism.

Essentially, it dares to ask whether tolerance extends to intolerance. More specifically, whether liberal Western society should grant freedom of expression to those individuals – particularly individual Muslims – that call for its destruction.

It’s a skilfully weaved case, constructed mostly from verbatim testimonial and media transcripts, that argues post-Rush...

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Latest User Review

Dominic Brewer - 22 March 2012:

Simply the most powerful and important piece of theatre I've seen in many, many years - and the fact it's being staged at the centre of the British theatrical establishment is extraordinary and exceptionally brave it itself - my estimation of the National Theatre has leapt stratospherically - my respect for DV8 theatre company needed no boost. Most of the comments above and below cover the content and context but I will add that I thought there was a refreshing degree of balance and fairness in the choice of texts delivered - all spoken verbatim mostly from interviews made by the company - and other forms of extremism were mentioned and the voices of British Muslims were heard - notably a former lecturer and Imam threatened with execution for suggesting the Qu'ran aligned with Darwin's theory of evolution. All in all, exceptionally, magnificently danced by every performer (who rarely looked out of breath to me when delivering the dialogue from where I was sat in the second row - a major feat in itself) and asking serious questions that no major playwright or other theatre company has had the balls to address in the last decade. A major piece of theatre that everyone should try to see. I was left stunned and saddened, challenged and exhilarated. Phenomenal. ...

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