This Accident Did Not Take Place tackles the way we use technology to try and force a connection to things that are distant from us, using a plane crash as its central example, pulling a different guest actor in every night to fill the central role (in my case they were Teddy Lamb).
Throughout This Accident Did Not Take Place, the performances of the members of the cast working around Teddy were all subtle to the point where the line between actor and character blurred - something which connected effectively with the core ideas of the play. Their slight changes meant that the deliberate repetition and iteration throughout the production becomes creeping and uncanny, deftly crafting an unsettled feeling, whilst never feeling melodramatic.
What really sets This Accident Did Not Take Place apart is its technical brilliance. All the action took place in front of a projector which kept changing in purpose, sometimes highlighting the action on stage and sometimes deliberately distracting from it. Beyond this, there is an onstage camera and some lighting on stage, which both get used in varying ways throughout the piece, with the camera streaming to the projector at points, creating a strange hyperreality through the mix of live acting and photography. Combined with the excellent sound design and some bizarre but effective music, the technical prowess of the production creates atmosphere and is fundamental to the surreal feeling that permeates through the show.
Every element of this bizarre and abstract show comes together to give the audience something to think about, in terms of the way in which we process and create reality through technology. If you want a unique and powerful show that feels like a quintessential Fringe experience - This Accident Did Not Take Place is the place to go.
0 Comments