Kate’s Score: 4 Allen Keys
If ever there was a paean to consumerism, it would have to be Ikea, the company that invested acquiring stuff with hypnotic emotional attachment. So it is an inspired choice as the jump-off point for James Jackson and Lindsay Templeton’s The Market is a Wind Up Toy, where the central character Arvid Flatpack (played in turn by every member of the ensemble) journeys, Orpheus-like with allen key in hand, to hell to rescue his own Eurydice, the free market.
A genre-defying production, The Market is a Wind Up Toy draws on many theatrical styles and classical allusions to slam into capitalist consumerism. It is political theatre; it is physical theatre; it is black comedy; it is university revue; it is Shakespearean; it is Greek Theatre; it is commedia dellárte and a multitude of other theatrical forms and yet, it is specifically none of these but its own beast, neatly marrying its themes in an amusing and unexpected way. Jackson’s direction, inspired and tight, asks his Ikea coloured ensemble to perform with a high energy impact and their combined commitment serves both the play and the writer/director’s vision.
There is a lot to unpack here in only sixty-five minutes and some moments will connect more with different members of the audience. A garbage island over which there is an argument for indigenous land rights, an uber taxi ride, the divisive policies of Thatcher, a sudden creation of a swastika, the worship of Baal … it seems there is not one aspect of rampant consumerism which is not thrown up for dissection and exposed to the blinding light of incisive exploration. It has a lot to say but not a lot to ask. But then again, the intent does not seem to provoke discussion.
A hero of the production has to be the tech – lighting (John Collophy) and sound (Justin Gardham) are faultless and frame the six scenes in a complete way. As befits the play’s intent, we are at times plunged into darkness and assaulted by a soundscape and the experience reminds you just how important these elements are in any theatrical performance.
The ensemble of Edan Goodall, James Malcher, Liv Bishop, Emily O’Connor, Imogen Walsh and Elizabeth Brennan present a uniformly strong performance although there were moments of poor diction which obscured text. Disappointingly, words and meaning were lost at times with this lack of clarity and the show would benefit from working on vocal clarity and better phrasing through controlled breathing.
Worth the hour, especially if you enjoy push back against the classics!
Kate Stratford – On The Town
The Market Is A Wind Up Toy
The latest radical political work from The Bloomshed, creators of ‘The Nose’ (Winner, festival director’s award, Sydney Fringe 2017).
7 – 18 May 2019
Tuesday – Saturday 8pm
Venue: The Old 505 Theatre
Theatre Company: The Bloomshed (Melbourne)
Duration: N/A
“An unapologetically raucous night spent skewering the economic status quo.” – Audrey Journal
The Market Is A Wind-up Toy – the latest radical political work from The Bloomshed, creators of ‘The Nose’ (Winner, festival director’s award, Sydney Fringe 2017).
It’s the end of the world sale – all things reduced to clear – time to take stock of what we have and flog it till it stops breathing. The market has collapsed, leading economists are jumping out of skyscraper windows, the golden bull has been put down. Arvid Flatpack has to fix it. Watch him journey down to the darkest recesses of hell to recurrent the only system that works – the free market.
Born out of the wintry depths of a suburban backyard shed, contemporary Melbourne theatre group The Bloomshed bring their latest work to the Old 505. Emerging writer and theatre maker, James Jackson, in collaboration with Bloomshed regulars Lindsay Templeton, Justin Gardam and John Collopy, are taking inspiration from Dante, Virillio and Crawford and turning it into a critique of techno-utopianism.
The Bloomshed aims to create cutting edge, political theatre. Reinvigorating classic texts through a combination of new writing and devising, The Market Is A Wind-up Toy is the company’s latest attempt to make something new by cannibalising the old.
“Energetic, hilarious and uncomfortable.” — Keith Gow Reviews
“Kafkaesque without any of the boringness of Kafka” – Sometimes Melbourne
Ticket Prices
$45 Premium Adults*
$40 Adults
$30 Concession, Industry & Under 30 ‘Pay what you want’ Previews
* Premium Adult patrons will be given first choice of seating each performance night. As well as securing the best seats in the house, it gives you a chance to invest further in the development of the work you are seeing and allows the Old 505 Theatre to continue to be a vital incubation space for new work.
