Dear Europe was created by The National Theatre of Scotland to explore our relationship with Europe, as well as the lived experience of what it means to be European. There were six pieces presented throughout the night, broken up by the host Gary McNair, who clearly was more used to The Stand rather than national theatre. His banter was a stark contrast to the works of theatre we viewed, which were all as unique as the other. Each act brought something new, in the forms of pantomime, movement, spoken word, and music. Whilst all of them were based around Europe, the interpretation of this theme varied dramatically.
The most captivating of the pieces was ‘a good start is half the work’ which was an intense movement piece, symbolic of the relationship between the UK and Ireland. The two performers carefully sat opposite each other on disjointed chairs which were ready to split at any moment. The actors moved around the stage carefully, attempting to balance on their individual chairs then relying on each other for steadiness with their arms intertwined as the chairs broke into pieces. It was a tremendous and deeply stressful performance as the audience were witness to great physical feats of attempted stability, shaking with exertion. The meaning and storytelling behind the minimalist movement was clear and focused, and deeply powerful.
‘moving through shadows’ was gorgeous in its execution, beginning as a documentary on what it means to be Black and Polish, jumping from screen to screen, sometimes playing simultaneously. The screens shut off as the main subject of the documentary, Ifi Ude, stepped up to the microphone to sing a heart wrenching song in person of the Polish Uprising which had featured throughout the video. The pain she carried in her strong voice was clear throughout this piece, the struggle of identity and being part of a culture that may only see her for the colour of her skin was evident.
In contrast to that, the other acts were jumbled in their message. ‘Death Becomes Us’ was intriguing at first, the whole audience blindfolded and with sound-cancelling headphones on. Sounds transitioned through the headphones from positive affirmations, to sound clips from news sources including Theresa May, to an interview with a BDSM Mistress, reaching a crescendo as a commanding voice instructed the audience to remove our headphones and blindfolds. What followed was a music piece with Heir of the Cursed and women from different countries throughout Europe. Whilst it was easy to see the overall theme was control, the message was unclear, lost in style over substance and lacking the punch the other acts had. While the vocals were stunning, the content was indistinct.
This was also sadly the case with ‘Cadaver Police In Quest Of Aquatraz Exit’, a spoken word act set in a satirical sci-fi world of Aquatraz. It was funny at times and dripping with irony, but the jumble of albeit beautifully written metaphors meant that there was no clear message or meaning, even more complicated by some parts being in German.
Like ‘Cadaver Police…’, pantomime-esque ‘Aquaculture Flagshipwreck’ became lost in its tone. Whilst it was educational and fun as other pantomimes are known for, the ending poem shouted by the scantily-dressed pirate on stage seemed detached from the rest of the content. Learning about Norway’s involvement in Scotland’s salmon fisheries was intriguing whilst also entertaining (who wouldn’t love launching scrunched up balls of the Financial Times at a giant salmon balloon?), the poem called for us to rise up in revolution. It didn’t fit in with what was mainly about fish farming.
In the concluding Second Citizen, all pretension had dropped, and the audience were presented with one musician’s real journey throughout Europe and his experience of no longer feeling like he belonged in the UK. It was honest and pure and finished with an electric performance on the glockenspiel. This act stood out as being less caked in metaphors and interpretation, but it also didn’t add much to the event itself. Instead, it was more a brief autobiography with a sample of music.
I left feeling like I had seen multiple aspects of what it is to part of the EU, well executed or not. Whilst it was hit-and-miss throughout the night, there was no doubt a tremendous amount of work had been put in to bring us a unique night of theatre and performance as Brexit came into play, and for that, I admire NTS for its commitment to entertainment and collaboration.
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