Review: IMPOSTER 22 at Jerwood Royal Court

Stuart King 4 October, 2023, 09:48

IMPOSTER 22 at Jerwood Royal Court Relaxed performances are generally considered for audience members who may struggle to cope with the more widely accepted constraints inherent in theatre etiquette, but this production demonstrates that audience members are not the only ones who may sometimes crave a more relaxed and random approach.

The assembled group of performers all have learning and other disabilities but more noticeable is the fact that each exhibits a playful, outgoing and inventive personality with a joyful desire to turn the tables on the norms. The worked-up piece the members of Access All Areas have created with Director Hamish Pirie and scriptwriter Molly Davies relies on the audience to join an exclusive club of witnesses who watch their re-enactment of an event for which those on stage believe they are about to be arrested and blamed for a murder. The event (if it actually took place) did so on their special island where you can shout, scream and let off energy and angsts… but never sleep. This last unwritten rule especially impacts a homeless guy Danny Jamael Westman who becomes involved with the group but is treated harshly as an outsider and we’re never allowed to fully understand what his motives are. Danny becomes the Imposter of the title.

Stage crew are on hand to move props and offer prompts as the story progresses and performers suffer momentary lapses. The result is sometimes frenetic, oddly awkward, certainly unusual, frequently entertaining and occasionally enlightening. This sort of show — which has taken a number of years to mount — may not be for everyone, but when you bring a group of neurodivergent players together the goal posts are bound to not only be different, but constantly shifting.

Those who participate and have contributed to the work’s creation are: Kirsty Adams, Cian Binchy, Housni Hassan, Dayo Koleosho, Stephanie Newman, Lee Phillips and Charlene Salter.