The Maze (Review)
Image from teatrovivo.co.uk
TL:DR Dangerous Liaisons, but with punks and pins and pogoing (oh my!) A rough and ready but truly unconventional local night out in Lewisham that will make you smile
I had the opportunity to see The Maze, a new immersive theatre show in its pilot run from promenade performance company Teatro Vivo, supported by Lewisham Council.
The Maze is loosely based on Dangerous Liaisons, but with a twist: the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont have been replaced by misfit punk musicians who are getting the band back together.
They're using their power struggle for control of the band as an excuse to make a bet on their ability to manipulate the love lives of other characters—specifically, everyone else in the cast.
A lot is going on in this show: multiple storylines, multiple locations, plenty of audience participation, a gig - phew! With such an ambitious scope it was probably always high risk that select elements would not quite land and unfortunately, it was pretty hit-and-miss for me.
There were some storylines that I really enjoyed; the lovesick drummer's audience-driven (and therefore highly misguided) attempts at courtship were hilariously charming and the mother's unfolding struggle with her daughter's coming of age quite moving. I also inevitably enjoyed the karaoke-esque singalong to Buzzcocks and Sex Pistols classics.
However, other elements didn't land quite as well — including multiple story strands that didn't wrap up satisfyingly and a jarring redemption storyline for a villainous character that came out of nowhere.
Maybe most challenging of all and despite an enthusiastic cast as well as, I believe, audience we were never quite able to let loose, fully throw off our humdrum shackles and get into the punk groove ourselves.
Multiple things might have contributed to this; feeling on display in well-lit spaces that were visible from the street, a lack of compelling arguments as to why we should rebel against the establishment (and by god, if not now, when?), background music volumes at a very un-punk sotto voce, alienation from some awkwardly-delivered sex references. Who knows? Maybe Dry January and some difficulty getting to a bar throughout the performance also conspired against us.
Ultimately, while there was evidently a few preview kinks to be worked out, I was impressed by the moxy of The Maze; the community-centric spirit of the Teatro Vivo is apparent and the high-energy acting delightful. I would certainly like to see more where it came from.
If you're after pure narrative and finesse it's probably not for you, but what it can bring is a truly unconventional local night out that will make you smile and keep you tapping your feet - or perchance, full-on pogoing.
The Maze will be opening for a full run later in the year. You can check the latest details here.
