The show was in essence was a solo performance by Oliver Bray about a Russian Family's tragic loss. He spent most of the performance reading from a script about a family from Russia. However what made it for me one of the most interesting pieces i've seen at the Nuffield was that 4 audience members were used in the creation of the performance
Now even as a seasoned Nuffield regular (I'm a third year Theatre Studies student - yes I am very old!) audience participation is nerve racking especially when there are only 13 audience members including 4 Ushers! so you knew that it was probably going to be you! Sure enough I was picked out and I have to admit I was terrified because for some reason when not in control (i.e not performing in a degree show etc) I feel very nervous as anyone would feel like being dragged on stage and not knowing what they would be subjected to!. However for the next 4o minutes or so of the performance, I Found it so enjoyable watching how this story was developed through very simple instructions given to me and the 3 other audience members involved on stage. What I thought was most interesting though was the way Oliver told the audience that before the performance started he had already picked out 3 audience members which turned out to be inaccurate which I thought was a very clever trick and one that personally left me feeling relaxed for a second believing that I wasn't going to be on stage! How wrong I was...
Although the very small audience, Bray was a very good solo performer reallying off joke after joke and keeping the audience interested throughout. The mix of forms from lecture style to narration to stand up comedy made for a very lively and funny piece.
If you want to find out more about Oliver and his company 'Until Thursday' check out: http://www.untilthursday.com/
Marcus
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