Theatre / Bath Fringe
REVIEW: If It’s To Break, Bath Fringe – ‘The journey of an office worker into the experience of making art’
This short piece of devised theatre – part of Bath Fringe, which is back after a two-year gap – is a two-man work about the experience of making art.
Largely, but not entirely, word-less, movement, lighting (uncredited) and sound (original sound by Chris Richards) convey the journey of an office worker into the experience of making art, and his relationship to it.
The players – Jake Rayner Blair and Chris Richards – work well together as the harassed office worker and the bandaged-eyed creature that is his “art”. Like Dr Frankenstein’s monster, Art is at first nigh-formless and inarticulate.
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Jake Rayner Blair and Chris Richards in If It’s To Break – photo: Brian Slater
As the Worker pours creativity into him, Art starts out helpless, then comes to reflect his maker’s own behaviours. Next, he evolves to fight him (“welcome to parenthood”, I thought), before self-expression and, ultimately, peace is found.
Sound and light are used heavily to convey the outer and inner worlds of the Worker, including excerpts which may be taken from the film of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things – a film (and play) about life/art boundaries.
These are undercut with canned laughter as the Worker watches mindless TV in his non-working time.
Jake Rayner Blair and Chris Richards in If It’s To Break – photo: Brian Slater
There are some moments of interesting physical movement, to convey the struggles of this evolving relationship, The Worker’s life is clearly empty and not his own; through his relationship with Art, he begins to find progress and peace.
The work is short at 40 minutes, but that’s not to say it should be longer. It very much lies in the space of theatre/installation and an exploration of theme, rather than being an exploration of characters.
Main photo: Brian Slater
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