A comedic show combining small sketches into a story-based theatre production. An intimate and immersive experience

Attention All Passengers is a comedic spectacle, combining a number small sketches into a story based theatre production. Written by Joseph Hollas, the piece consists of four main characters Rodney, Elizabeth, Janus and Karen – all of which are thrown together by chance on their daily commute to work, travelling on the London Underground, or at least that’s what they know to be true. Their daily travels are constantly interrupted by an intrusive announcer who is overly involved in their personal lives, this particular announcer has a lot more to say than the usual “please mind the gap”. 

Throughout the evening, we delve into a number of sketches that tell past and present stories of Rodney’s life in particular, with the guidance of the announcer and commentary from other cast members. The production approached a number of topics with these snap shots of Rodney’s lived experience, each containing a great deal of irreverent comedy with occasional satirical commentary on the modern life of young adults, from a blossoming love to a rather extreme coaching experience as we try to make healthier choices. Without giving too much away, there seemed to be an overarching narrative of how easy it can be to accept the social norms and the humdrum life that we, the people, are expected to accept by a limited number of capitalist overlords, but that simply living in these 9 to 5 professional landscapes and accepting the new technologies forced upon us can have their downsides. But if you want more details on that front, I would suggest you see the show.

The entire cast delivered a strong performance from start to finish. Each scene was full of energy and intimacy ensuring there was never a dull moment in this production. As the company was fairly small in number, they each played multiple characters and this was definitely to the credit of the cast. I was very impressed by their skill set to continually play a completely different role in such short time frames. Having one actor play multiple roles can easily affect the audiences ability to feel engrossed in a performance as it requires extra imagination, however this was clearly not the case here.  Each actor handled this challenge with a great deal of aptitude and expertise, keeping us, the audience, engaged throughout with their quick wit one liners and impeccable timing. The characters would often break down the fourth wall as they sat down next to us and spoke to various audience members. This made for an incredibly intimate and immersive experience, as you get to feel like part of the presentation. If you are anything like me you’ll enjoy this element of the show, however, if this kind of interaction makes you slightly uncomfortable be sure to take a seat further back. The chemistry and connection between the performers themselves, and between the cast and the audience, was exquisite. I felt that I was in the presence of some incredibly talented actors and I personally look forward to seeing where their careers take them. 

Unfortunately, I did feel the show was quite jumpy and became a touch disjointed at times with certain scenes seeming a little unnecessary. Whilst each individual sketch had excellent clarity to that particular scene, the writing sometimes lacked a real sense of reason in order to further the overarching story line leaving the audience asking “why?”. There was also an element of musical theatre where the actors sang brilliantly with a particularly enjoyable three part harmony to end the piece.  But the performers only sang once, which again brings up the question of “why?”. I think, in general, the writing was perhaps a bit focused on the goal being about how random and inexplicable the narrative could be, rather than thinking about taking the audience on a quirky journey.

Overall I would recommend this show to friend. Despite the disjointed nature to the writing at times, I was still incredibly entertained. This is probably not the piece of theatre for someone who is looking to enjoy some highbrow art, but for some light-hearted fun that is irrevocably silly, in an environment that is welcoming and engaging, and performed by some extremely talented individuals – I think this production still has plenty to offer, and I personally had a really enjoyable evening.