It is 1987. Three younger strangers discover themselves in the identical downtrodden arcade (image Brighton Pier). They don’t know or need to know one another. All of a sudden they uncover they’re locked in, trapped and unable to seek out an exit. Director Luke Sookdeo and the solid do job of exhibiting the unease and the rising pressure throughout the group as they navigate this dilemma and one another. They come to the conclusion that the best way out is to play a recreation on an arcade machine, however it seems it will as an alternative drive them to…
Rating
Ok
There are robust components to this present, however in the mean time, it’s just a bit inconsistent to be thought-about a completed work.
It is 1987. Three younger strangers discover themselves in the identical downtrodden arcade (image Brighton Pier). They don’t know or need to know one another.
All of a sudden they uncover they’re locked in, trapped and unable to seek out an exit. Director Luke Sookdeo and the solid do job of exhibiting the unease and the rising pressure throughout the group as they navigate this dilemma and one another. They come to the conclusion that the best way out is to play a recreation on an arcade machine, however it seems it will as an alternative drive them to relive and withstand disgrace that they really feel over elements of their lives.
Arcadia 87 throws its themes out fairly wildly, protecting poverty, intercourse work, sexuality, the HIV disaster and homosexual panic of the 80s, and a barely out of left area take a look at sororities within the US. Everything feels undeveloped right here, with too little time and focus spent on every story and relationship, while not managing to completely have interaction the viewers.
There is loads of comedy mined with Mystic Maggie, a fortune-telling arcade machine primarily based on Margaret Thatcher. Comments about Tory Government insurance policies within the Eighties resulting in individuals on the streets or unable to feed their electrical energy meter are sadly simply as related in the present day as in 1987. There can also be superb comedy exhibiting the American viewpoint of Margaret Thatcher being significantly extra constructive than that of the locals, and a prescient query as to why individuals vote the Tories again in.
Some inconsistencies within the script are irritating, Mikey (Sookdeo) is in search of a misplaced good friend however after simply an preliminary point out of this it’s discarded. Why is Britney (Bee Nickerson) consistently working off to the lavatory? This comes again as a plot level however then goes nowhere. Mikey’s imaginative and prescient of his disgrace isn’t seen by the group like Meg (Molly Farquhar) and Britney’s; the viewers sees him relive it however then he additionally explains it to the others. The dangling threads begin to add up with out taking the story additional.
During the preliminary setup, because the arcade machine is whirling across the room, we see a fourth character, Martin (Shane Robert Saul). Spoiler alert – as it’s later to be a shock that he’s hiding from the storm within the lavatory it may need been value leaving him out of the setup. Saul does job of constructing the others much more uncomfortable, elevating their suspicions, and dropping a touch of malevolence earlier than main us to the climax.
There is robust motion and bodily theatre, nice prop work (the Thatcher papier maché may be very efficient) and the sound work is great, not simply in the usage of 80’s music however within the distorted voiceover and the snippets of recordings of Thatcher. The relaxation feels strong however suggests unreached potential. The robust vitality, enthusiasm and core idea are all right here, and barely extra focus and tightening might flip this right into a potent piece.
Written by: Luke Sookdeo
Directed by: Luke Sookdeo
Produced by: Molly Farquhar
Arcadia 87 performed as a part of VAULT Festival 2023 and has accomplished its present run.