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State of Emergency

The Gate Theatre, Inner London
From: Thursday, 6th November 2008
To: Saturday, 13 December 2008

Our Review: starstar

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Synopsis

When the world outside is dangerous and every sound is a siren, home becomes a haven. But what happens if home becomes hell? Richter's unsettling play probes life behind society's self-imposed bars.

Our Review: starstar

12 November 2008

The basic idea underpinning Falk Richter’s State of Emergency (here translated by David Tushingham) is that when the haves and the have-nots become too polarised, as symbolised by the utopian gated community in which the central characters live, the resulting mix of fear, boredom and inevitable in-breeding soon turns the whole operation into an Orwellian nightmare.

Heard it all before? Perhaps. But nevertheless, in an age when the wealthy are increasingly isolating themselves in paranoid gated enclaves to shut out the realities of poverty and crime, it’s worth reminding ourselves of the problems this can breed. Although I couldn’t help but feel I’d rather be observing life for those outside the gates than the rather stale and monotonous bickering of the Man (Jonathan Cullen) and Woman (Geraldine Alexander) trapped inside.

The dialogue is driven by the Woman, with Alexander’s menacing performance providing by far and away th...

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Creative

Falk Richter (Author)
The Gate (Producer)
David Tushingham (Translation)
Maria Aberg (Director)
Naomi Dawson (Design)
Neil Austin (Lighting)
Carolyn Downing (Sound)


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