Rawz’s performance felt more like watching a lecture, however, the lecture given was insightful and relevant.
This show exposes the duality between Oxford’s privileged surface and the often overlooked areas within it in an informative and entirely unique manner. As an audience, we are invited to join writer and performer Rawz on his journey growing up in Greater Leys, to later leading projects at Oxford University and becoming the artist in residence at St John’s College. The ‘Portals and Parallels’ existing between worlds of socio-economic differences are evident throughout the show; Rawz sharply emphasises the imbalance, oppression and prejudices the media frequently dismisses through a variety of interesting mediums.
However, the format of the show occasionally appeared indecisive. Due to the largely factual content and ‘book in hand’, powerpoint delivery style, it did feel like attending a lecture rather than a piece of theatre. This could have been intentional- Rawz’s perceptive, thought provoking story is the kind of content that should be delivered to full lecture halls, and much of the piece centred around his unexpected journey into academia. Despite this, the frequent incorporation of several different creative mediums alongside occasional shifts into a more dramatic performance style felt awkwardly inserted, rather than seamlessly combined. For instance, the use of different coats when attending different events in Oxford felt like an unnecessarily literal depiction of entering different portals, and ended up slowing the pace as they were difficult to manoeuvre.
Having said this, it was the moments of poetry and song where Rawz came to life as a skilled storyteller and writer, putting down his script and appearing most comfortable while onstage. Though at times, it seemed out of place and imbalanced within the lecture- style content, it provided interesting contrast, was often emotive and gave the performance greater depth. Perhaps the show would have benefited from delivering more of its factual essay content through these creative mediums, particularly as a few essay sections felt slightly repetitive as the show went on. Of course, this may also have been intentional for emphasis, but the general lack of clarity in the show’s genre made it somewhat difficult to distinguish which moments were intentional, and which were side effects of delivering too much at once.
The personal anecdotes Rwaz gave were a highlight throughout. They were the most ‘stripped back’ moments of the show but I felt they had the strongest emotional impact, sparking a desire for advocacy and change in the audience. While earlier the powerpoint displayed statistics or humorous edits, in these moments Rawz used pictures of his home, his friends, and footage from his anecdotes, adding an often shocking element of reality. The show was highly successful in depicting ‘two Oxfords’, in a manner that powerfully reminded the audience of the privileges and injustices that arise from an unjust, long ingrained system.
Rawz’s voice should absolutely be heard throughout Oxford and beyond- I am keen to see what he does next. There is no doubt that every audience member will look at Oxford and their place within it differently after seeing this show. Already, it will definitely spark much needed conversation, and with a little clarification of genre and performance style, Portals and Parallels could make for a highly impactful piece of theatre.