There’s a lot of potential philosophical depth in Dare You Say Please on the King’s Head Theatre however extra improvement wanted within the script
“Do you honestly believe your life is worth more than mine?”
Aimee Varani’s Dare You Say Please definitely goals large because it tees up some big philosophical questions. In a society on the precipice as a result of overpopulation, all 25 12 months olds should face a deadly judgement – put right into a room with one other particular person of the identical age, they should determine which one in every of them needs to be allowed to reside, realizing that if they’ll’t attain a choice, neither will survive.
As Maria and Oscar face their alternative, we take a real-time journey by way of this seemingly unattainable alternative. Delving into the character of how or whether or not good and unhealthy behaviour ought to consider, questions comparable to if the motivation to do good is just to get ammunition for this course of, does that negate the ‘good’ that was executed. Can this remaining dialogue between two individuals ever be executed ethically?
Nominally, there’s a lot that ought to curiosity right here however at simply an hour lengthy, and with little or no contextual data out there, the play falls flat. There’s little sense of why society has devolved so far, the hints of roles performed by Maria (as a carer) and Oscar (as a ‘guardian’) aren’t explored sufficient so as to add significant element. Ultimately, the stakes don’t really feel excessive sufficient for them to care sufficient and subsequently, the identical goes for the viewers.
I used to be an enormous fan of Alexzandra Sarmiento’s directorial debut in We’re Few and Far Between final 12 months however right here, comparatively, she appears stymied. There’s little of the creative boldness of that earlier piece and maybe constricted by the house, her interventions are barely noticeable, to the purpose the place the static nature of a lot of the manufacturing feels uninspired. Basic blocking errors come to the fore, because the unbalanced nature of the writing weighs the entire thing down.