Theatre / Spoken Word
Review: Dead White Anarchists, BASE Social Centre – ‘Commands attention and reflection’
Dead White Anarchists packs a piercing punch, blending the turmoil of radical politics with the trappings of rave culture.
Written and performed by spoken word artist Paul Case, the show is a poetic rage against the machine, following the true life of French anarchist Émile Henry as he walks down a path of revolution towards complete nihilism.
Disorientating yet captivating, this one-man show is strung together by visceral description, and the canny use of a black pork pie hat.
is needed now More than ever
Paul Case, Dead White Anarchists – photo: Sweet Pea Photography
With the directorial guidance of Emily Ingram, Case seamlessly switches between characters and narrator, whilst also transporting the audience through time and space.
Case’s masterclass in storytelling transforms the small community co-op in Easton into the inside of a bumpy horse and carriage ride down the streets of Bourgeois Paris one moment, and then takes the audience on a psychedelic trip into the heart of a London warehouse rave the next.
This 45-minute pumped up rebuke of capitalist society is brimming with resentment, which bubbles over from the state to the failed revolutionaries known as “footnote fuckwits”, and even engulfs the modern day ravers who dare brand their debauchery anarchy.
Case’s embodiment of Emile Henry scrutinises all symptoms of the system, taking down the empty hedonists and anarchists who dance in “a wrecked and wasted future”.
Photo: Sweet Pea Photography
The narrative is seething with frustration as every road to rebellion seems futile and depraved, with no clear escape from a suffocating society.
The cycle of carnage and shame that rave culture can evoke is seen to heighten the likelihood of entrapment by capitalism – a system that chews you up and spits you back out into your grey day job.
Though it certainly has a bleak aftertaste, it’s not hard to sink your teeth into this radical, offbeat history lesson.
Dead White Anarchists commands your attention and reflection. It is storytelling which will leave a ringing for revolution in your ear.
Poster design: Jay Kerr and Paul Case
For more information about Paul Case, including upcoming gig listings, go to www.paulcasespeaks.co.uk.
All photos: Sweet Pea Photography
Read more: The rise of Bristol spoken word poet Malizah
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