REVIEW: Golem, New Wolsey Theatre, Pulse Festival ✭✭✭✭

Golem Pulse Festival Ipswich

Golem Pulse Festival, New Wolsey Theatre 10 June 2017 4 Stars Very much thought of as the jewel in the crown of this year’s Pulse Festival, 1927’s Golem is a show that has reached legendary status sine it was first staged, and comes to the Wolsey after long national and international tours. Drawing on the myth of The Golem, of a man who fashions a creature out of clay to work for him, the piece examines the relationship between man and machine, until the machines take over. The star of the show is the animation and projections that create a graphic novel coming to life, very much in the style of Fritz Lang, particularly Metropolis. The genius of the piece is that, despite its style, it is a world very familiar to us as the Golem is updated, each time becoming technologically smaller and more powerful. Human emotions are sublimated … Read more

REVIEW: Nuclear Family, New Wolsey Theatre, Pulse Festival ✭✭✭

Nuclear Family at Pulse Festival

Nuclear Family Pulse Festival, New Wolsey Theatre. 10 June 2017 3 Stars Presented as an inquiry into the meltdown of Ashtown Nuclear Plant, this interactive piece by Sunday’s Child and Fever Dream Theatre asks the audience to step in and make decisions that will affect the outcome of the drama. Racing against the clock, and with strictly timed discussion points, the majority choices are then acted out. It takes a while to get going, the opening scene establishing recent history and problems with the plant, and the relationship between siblings Joe and Ellen, who become trapped when disaffected former workers break in and enter the control room. Anne O’Riordan and Aidan O’Callaghan work well as the siblings, creating a good sense of tension as the play progresses. The scenario would have benefited from being a little more realistic; some of the circumstances presented appeared highly unlikely. More character development would … Read more