Assembly George Square
Aug 7-25 (14:45)
Richard Saudek’s mime performance is a spectacular transformation of a traditional art-form into the contemporary era. His brainbaby allows us to look into a societal reflection of the loneliness and anxiety that smart phones and social media can induce, and offers a refreshing reminder of just how ridiculous we look during our banal interactions with the cyber world.
Who better to caricature the insular loneliness of our modern times than a mime? It allows us to laugh at the absurdity of our behaviour and open up the conversation to dark topics and serious problems, all the while painting a smile upon our faces. Important messages are often well portrayed through a light hearted medium; our engagement with the topic is made more accessible, and, for themes of such gravity, a show of such few words could hardly have been more engaging, emotive, or meaningful. Richard Saudek and Jesse Novak’s performance was nothing short of impeccable, a tightly rehearsed and perfectly executed performosphere.
Beep Boop’s slapstick mime tackles dark issues through hilarity and absurdity. The set seemed at first to be rather minimal: some clown make up and large white box as a prop. Their use of props, lighting, projections, and music, however, was soon ingeniously employed; such as the disturbingly sunken eyes of the protagonist, to the cunning use of phone screen backlights, and the projection of inverted images onto the stage. Beep Boop will leave you questioning the unhealthy nature of our relationship with technological devices; disturbed by our dependency on our phones for social interactions, and our general desire for affirmation and approval – yet, despite the dark content of this invigorating show, it will raise your happiness levels for its entirety.
Mat Boyd
