YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW THAT To 4 May, then autumn 2007.

Tour.

YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT
by Gonzo Moose.

Gonzo Moose Tour to 4 May then autumn 2007.
Runs 1hr 30 mins. No Interval.

Review: Ranjit Khutan:21 March at Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton.

Facinating ensemble piece.
Inspired by Kafka's The Trial, You Don’t Need to Know That is the story of an ordinary man trying to prove his innocence in impossible circumstances. Beresford Jones wakes up one morning to find a police inspector at the foot of his bed asking inane questions, disbelieving his replies and then accusing him of being a “merchant of confusion, a peddler of anxieties.” This clear injustice witnessed at the outset continues throughout the play.

We are presented with non-stop comical scenes, most noteworthy of which is the court-room scene with its incoherent judge, where even a sheep is called to give evidence, and imaginative use of a rubber glove stretched to create an alien-like puppet.

However, the whole play has an uncomfortable edge to it. I sensed many tongue-in-cheek references to the similarities to prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and Beresford’s experience of (in)justice, where lack of evidence does not necessarily lead to ‘reasonable doubt’ in assessing if someone is guilty or not. This is nowhere more poignant than when Beresford’s girlfriend informs him that no one else will help him because “everyone is involved in the system.” Beresford’s strong belief in justice continues through to the bitter end; he even proclaims that he will fight and then “go on holiday – to America - to the land of freedom.”

Creative, original and full of unexpected twists, this is a fascinating piece of theatre in which the ensemble create an abstract and surreal world in which anything can happen and is easily believable. It is a brilliant piece of work full of purposeful mistakes, slapstick, paradoxes and farce. What you need to know about You Don’t Need to Know That is that it is a brilliant piece of theatre and well worth seeing.

Performers: Angus Barr, Mark Conway & Clare Thomson.

Director: Abigail Anderson.
Designer: Mandy Dike.
Lightingn: Tom Richmond.
Costume: Maija Nygren.

2007-04-02 01:00:03