A thought provoking production delivered with style. This is a lesson you really want to attend
Lessons on Revolution is described as “documentary theatre,” which is a phrase that I had not come across before but definitely felt apt for this show. This show is written by and stars Gabriele Ubodi and Samuel Rees and tells the story of the time in 1968 that 3000 students occupied the London School of Economics. Except no it is not. It tells much more than that, and this occupation event is used more as a framing device than a driver of plot. There are discussions about apartheid in Rhodesia, the Vietnam War, the gay liberation movement, and lots more besides. Quite a lot to fit into a show that is just over 1 hour long!
It is difficult to describe what this show is. It is part play, part live documentary, part lecture, and part something else entirely. All of this makes it sound like it should be a confusing mess, and yet all of these different parts came together to make a show that I thought was absolutely brilliant. I cannot explain to you how or why all of the different aspects of this show work, they just do. Ubodi and Rees deserve lots of praise for creating a very compelling production that has a clear political and philosophical message to it, that is also very entertaining and engaging. This show does include audience participation, which I am classically British about and hate doing, but thankfully it is a case of volunteering to take part by wearing a sticker rather than having to opt out, so if this is not your sort of thing then no need to worry, you will be safe. However, after seeing how the audience members were used, I regretted not putting myself forward. The audience are used sparingly to read out lines which are handed to them. This was a really clever way of allowing us to see Ubodi and Rees as themselves the entire time, rather than having to suspend our disbelief and imagine them as these other characters. This was a really smart decision, one of many smart decisions made in this show, that really helped to elevate this production from something that on paper, could have been quite dry, into something that feels electric and quite frankly brilliant.
The staging looks deceptively simple as you walk in. A table is in the centre of the stage with a projector on it, and a bar cart sits to one side (out of which ginger biscuits and cups of tea are offered to the audience). Once the production starts, the intricacies of the set up are revealed and it is impressive how seamlessly everything worked and flowed. Multiple projectors are used, one of which is the old style of what I would call “lecture projectors” with the paper being placed on top of it then being cast on to the wall, which I loved for the nostalgia which was in keeping with the setting of the show. The mixture of static pictures and videos incorporated throughout were each perfectly utilised to help portray the point being made and this variety helped to ensure that the production never felt stale.
Normally at this point in the review I would make sure that I have talked about the performances of the actors, but that feels slightly difficult to do for this show. Ubodi and Rees are saying lines and following a script, but they are not portraying characters, rather they are telling a story of sorts. Regardless of this complexity, they both performed admirably and were engaging storytellers. They seamlessly move between talking about events from 1968 or before, and talking about their own lives in the present day. There were some light jokes interspersed in the production which helps to avoid the show becoming too heavy, and it also ingratiates you to Ubodi and Rees very quickly.
This show has a message. A message that it delivers to you very early on and then spends the rest of the show expanding on. Is there a point in revolutionary acts if they do not actually achieve their aims? Is personal sacrifice worth it for a greater cause, even if that cause fails? What legacy do we leave behind once we are gone? How can the struggles of the past inform the struggles of the future?
I feel like this production had no right being as good as it was. On paper it does not sound like it would work. It sounds like it would be a preachy disjointed mess, and yet it was not. It was a great exploration of ideas and thoughts and of the past, and an excellent way of teaching your audience something and putting across your point of view, without ever veering into being preachy. Perhaps if you are of a very right-wing persuasion this show will not appeal to you, but for anyone else who wants an engaging, thought provoking, and entertaining performance, I absolutely recommend this show to you.
Lessons on Revolution is playing at the Hope Theatre until the 7th October.