The audience arrives and settles in the auditorium, faced with a bare stage with no set and a single microphone on a stand. I have no idea what to expect from this show, and I have no preconception. The rest of the audience are in the same boat.
Tim arrives in front of his audience wearing a VR (virtual reality) headset. The tone is serious, the theme is partly based around virtual reality and part of the story is a narrative version of a Shakespeare play… or so it seems. Without wanting to give too much away about what will unfold, this one man performance (or piece of performance art) in a very unusual way, holds a mirror up to our present day life and events of recent years. And the writing and atmosphere comments on where we are at in our world and society.
Crouch delivers a somewhat surreal performance which he is subtly enjoying. He takes a number of moments to show us his inner peace. And then draws us into his reflective discovery about how fucked we all are.
Don’t go to this expecting any kind of conventional theatre play. Expect to be amused, shocked and perhaps even provoked by the dark moments of musical interlude. And the intriguing and occasionally confusing narrative. The pace is lacking at some moments throughout the show, and there is some repetition which seems unnecessary. However the overall experience is never boring. It is certainly thought-provoking in a similar vein to when Orwell recorded his last warning to the world.
Pippa Murphy has written the music and created the sound design. We are taken to a dark and sometimes sinister atmosphere which, intertwined with the narrative of Crouch’s dialogue, has a very chilling effect.
Tim Crouch, Truth’s A Dog Must to Kennel, Lyceum Studio, 8.15, till 28th August
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/tim-crouch-truth-s-a-dog-must-to-kennel
