Storehouse, Deptford Storehouse Review
Scott Karim in Storehouse. Photo by Helen Murray.
Written by Sarah for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Schlepping through the bowels of South London, across a field, to an enormous disused warehouse for the latest immersive event from Sage and Jester seems somewhat of a theatrical pilgrimage. The Storehouse in Deptford has been commandeered by an underground collective to house data: records of all digital interactions since the launch of the internet in 1983. Essentially, hard copies of the World Wide Web. The production is a comment on 24/7 media saturation, misinformation, truth, and trust. The scope, scale and spectacle are impressive but swamp the story in a multisensory, mind-boggling ride into an alternative reality.
The inhabitants of the storehouse have been kept underground for the past 42 years, and the audience is thrust into the role of trustees of the Storehouse. We are funnelled into separate rooms, into smaller groups and encouraged to introduce ourselves in a holding space in the style of a post-modern living room. We are guided into an 1980s print room, where data is encoded in binary, bound in books and buried in boxes. The journey continues into a network of spaces that have the feeling of being inside an igloo, a tree, a nest; the detail is meticulous, as we are fully immersed in this underground universe. The experience is overwhelming and utterly bewildering as the ‘other worldliness’ eclipses the narrative.
The climax of this journey takes place in a larger space where the audience are reunited, looking down on a large pool of water, at which point it begins to feel like a bizarre game show. The actors pose questions: “What gives you hope?” It becomes a forum to share coping strategies. The actors are perfectly competent as custodians in this world, but the characters are one-dimensional, and there is no emotional investment.
The real protagonist in this production is the design because it creates a universe that is absorbing, disorientating and alarming. However, the residual impression is that a lot more can be said with a lot less.
Anyone with accessibility issues should contact the team for advice and support and take advantage of the relaxed performances.
Storehouse runs at Deptford Storehouse until 20 September.
★★★★
