"Minority Report" By David Haig. Based on the short story by Philip K. Dick
I've never seen the film, so didn't know the story or what to expect from this play. This production though is based on the original short story and not the three hour long film starring Tom Cruise and Nottingham's Samantha Morton.
In 2050, neuroscientist Dame Julia Anderton is about to launch the next phase of her pioneering Pre-Crime programme, detaining people for crimes before they are committed and getting them off the streets. But when Julia is accused of pre-murder, she’s in a race against time to save herself from her own system.
It's strange just how quickly this production had me changing my mind about the subject matter. After the first five minutes I was all in favour of the chip in the back of the head to detect future offenders. Then after Julia was pronounced a pre-murderer suspect, your mind gets to wander while you watch as to the accuracy of the programme; could the CEO of the programme really fall foul of her own life work? Could there be a flaw in the programme? If there was, how did it occur and who could be responsible? The answers to these questions are provided as the play continues.
Jodie McNee, who never seems to be off stage all the way through the play, plays Julia, in what develops into a really physical role for Jodie. Putting a woman in the central role really turns the whole idea on its' head. You don't see that in many Sci-Fi thrillers on TV or on stage, and definitely not done with this style and technical visuality.
George, Julia's husband, is played by Nick Fletcher. The character, from the start, comes across quite nerdy, but as you get to see more of him, he does become slightly more likeable, but can he be trusted?
Tanvl Firmani plays David, Julia's voice assistant, who magically seems to appear out of nowhere when commanded, almost like a genie from a bottle. the visual effects on her person really create that almost holographic look.
Michelle, the American assistant, who seems to have a thing about nerdy men (no spoilers), is played by Xenoa Campbell-Ledgister.
Nicholas Rowe plays Ralph, the slick-talking politician.
Chrissy Brooke plays Christina.
Ricardo Castro plays Sergeant Harris, a power-hungry policeman who is intent on delivering his target.
Danny Collins plays Fleming and Roseanna Franscona plays Ana, the protesters who end up helping Julia in an unexpected U Turn.
Directed by Max Webster, there is so much more to concentrate on with a technical play such as this, but boy is it worth it!
Tal Rosner's video design is insanely exciting to watch. I have not seen anything like this before; the only thing that seems to come anywhere near it is the video designs for "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time".
Nicola T Chang is the Composer and also is the Sound Designer for this production. The sound builds tension and, at times makes you feel quite uneasy. The timing of the sound design with the actor obviously has been synchronised well to the physicality of the play and the actors.
The Lighting Designer is Jessica Hung Han Yun, and compliments the sound design brilliantly, making the show a feast for both eyes and ears
Jon Bausor's set design is quite literally out of this world with sets lowered from the ceiling, sliding in from either side and all over the place. The technology that has gone into the staging of the play, as well as the set designs, is as futuristic as the storyline. You really felt that the driverless car was moving at speed, due to the visual effects. The fluidity of the scene changes are to be credited as well and move the story on perfectly.
The choreography included is great, showing the people on the interim of the story in slow motion, creating quite a cinematic effect. The Movement Director is Lucy Hind.
"Minority Report" is at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 9 March and is such a clever, futuristic piece of theatre, that you really do not want to miss it.
No comments:
Post a Comment