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Lyric Hammersmith and Shunt Lounge Production Contains Violence
Written and Directed by David Rosenburg
Lyric Hammersmith
27 March – 26, April 2008
A review by Allan Taylor for EXTRA! EXTRA!
Contains Violence is set in the offices opposite the terrace of the Lyric Hammersmith. Armed with a pair of binoculars and some headphones, the audience become spectators to an office after hours and how it can descend into sheer absurdity and horrendous acts of frustrated violence. Asked to experience the event from the perspective of two office workers, the audience become spies as well as facilitators. Have the audience slipped between the cracks of decency, and will you dare to look away? The term ‘unique staging’ certainly applies here. A cross between technological sophistication and downright rudeness is at play here, and David Rosenburg (creator and director) also playing on a very British sense of politeness and decency. When we are given the opportunity to spy, would we? I found myself peering not only into the action of the performance, but into side windows and streets, into surrounding bars and wondering if there was some quintessential clue I was looking for. But no, it was merely my own sense of curiosity playing tricks on me. The plot, to an extent, is left up to the viewer. Contains Violence makes use of suspense and, of course, violence to make you wonder how far you’re willing to go. Can this voyeurism push you to an extent of violence? To murder? Our host infiltrates the building, and perhaps infiltrates the characters to portray just how extreme the obsession can go. With echoes of Hitchcock’s film Rear Window, Contains Violence doesn’t necessarily show you the danger of voyeurism, but perhaps gives us an insight into what happens when you are not looking. Behind office blinds and sterile white rooms, lies the agonising truth of mentalities on the boil. Like one of the workers Kim, (played by Neil Edmond) who constantly asks his co-workers if they find him attractive in some vague hope of sexual affection (be it male or female), or the subtlety of our host (Simon Kane) who pushes us to spy as if we are his accomplices. With your binoculars shaking in your hand, Contains Violence plays on the sense of what you see, and what you can’t quite see. Is what you’ve witnessed the truth? And what are the motivations behind that? Clinical and yet deeply disturbing, when I came in from the cold terrace I had to have a glass of red wine to stop me shivering. Whether it was the night time air or my blood was running cold from the thrill and sheer horror of the inevitable conclusion, you will certainly never look into an office building in the same way. It will have you peering into every nook and cranny just to ensure you don’t miss a thing. Just what is happening behind those blinds, those white walls and those blinding fluorescent lights? Contains Violence is thrilling, cold yet compelling. An experience to be relished, it will certainly ring in the cool spring nights with a bit of bite.
Contains Violence is running until the 26th April Performances start 8.30pm Tickets £15 or go to www.lyric.co.uk
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