Review: CASCANDO, Jermyn Street Theatre
Photo credit: Greta Zabulyte
As theatregoers, we are accustomed to the cosy anonymity of watching a play behind the ’fourth wall’. But what happens when the audience are taken outside and offered a contrasting audio visual experience? Directed by Gavin Quinn, this wonderfully inventive promenade piece takes the audience on a journey through the streets of London and more importantly, through their own imagination.
Upon entering the auditorium, the audience are dressed in black hooded cloaks and given headphones connected to a small iPad. We are wired for sound as members of the company lead us up the narrow stairway of the Jermyn Street Theatre. At street level with headphones on, we pull up our hoods as an eerie soundtrack begins to play. Walking in single file, the audience are led through the surrounding area of St. James’ as the sun slowly began to set. The hypnotic tones of Daniel Reardon and Andrew Bennett perfectly set the atmosphere. They tell the story of Woburn, a mysterious and lonely soul who seems to be reaching the end of something. The recording teasingly fades in and out, making the most of silence, however fleeting that might be.
Cascando dares to be different and creates a completely different mindset for the audience. Instead of watching and listening, we are compelled to walk and listen. Immersed in headphones and a hood, we exclude outside distractions, but can also see signs of life in the corner of our eye. People carousing outside the pub, a courier, telecom engineer and operatives from a dustcart are curious onlookers, could they be connected to our story on a subliminal level? An occasional smirk might be detected but for the most part, they seem oblivious, almost disinterested in who we are and what we might be doing. It is a gripping almost visceral experience as the imagination goes into overdrive.
A steady almost rhythmic march soon comes to an end. It is over but feels like it has just begun. This is without doubt, highly skilful storytelling that cleverly adapts a Samuel Beckett radio play. The Pan Pan Theatre Company have not taken the easy way out by simply adapting for the stage. Instead, they have preserved the play’s intensity by leaving the drama inside the heads of the audience. Cascando gets an additional star for the innovative quality it delivers with relative ease.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Brian Penn
Cascando plays at the Jermyn Street Theatre until 13 September, with further info here.
