Pulsing with energy and emotional intensity, (Up)beat is a promising work-in-progress that blends live DJing, strong performances, and sharp writing to explore addiction, identity and connection
From the moment the audience steps into the black box space of Southwark Playhouse Borough, they are immersed in the pulsing electronic beats of main character A’s world as the three performers DJ and dance onstage, a high-energy introduction that sets the tone for the next hour. (Up)beat, created by the all-women collective SpeakBeat and presented as part of Forge Festival, follows a young woman’s move to London to pursue a career as a DJ, while navigating substance abuse, shame, and turbulent relationships. Still in development, the piece brims with potential and makes for an engaging and compelling watch.
The three actors brought vibrant energy, polish and cohesion, complementing each other’s performances with ease and displaying dynamic chemistry between them. For such a small cast, each actor convincingly embodied the multiple characters within the play’s universe. The final few moments of the play had a quiet, emotional and resonant quality; cutting through the noise and bright lights of the last hour, the actors’ closeness and softness showed what a greater use of light and shade throughout could have brought.
(UP)BEAT was an innovative production, with thoughtfully selected tracks pumped through the speakers by rare use of live DJing onstage. Microphones were used selectively onstage to transform actors into entirely different characters. Lighting was used effectively at times, but the club scenes could have been made more immersive with strobe or bolder color palettes. This would deepen the sense of euphoria and contrast the extreme highs and the starker lows that pervade A’s life.
The writing was strong, with moments of euphoria and interspersed humor contrasting the play’s more dark and serious themes, conveying the protagonist’s substance-fueled highs and lows with a convincing level of emotional complexity. The play touched upon multiple narrative threads, such as A’s relationship with her brother and her complex romantic and sexual entanglements. While these threads were intriguing and offered insight into the causes and far-reaching consequences of A’s substance abuse, these snippets of her life warranted more exploration.
Given the play’s relatively short runtime of one hour, it was well paced but it felt at times that threads were not fully woven into a coherent whole. A stronger thematic lens, such as the briefly mentioned concept of shame and its connection to A’s alcoholism, could have offered a more relatable lens through which to explore these relationships for a wider audience who may not have lived experience of A’s specific challenges.
As an early iteration, (UP)BEAT features strong performances, sharp writing and a rich concept. With a tighter focus on its core themes, it has the potential to evolve into a deeply affecting piece of theatre.
FORGE Festival’s performances were the culmination of a year’s residency at Southwark Playhouse as part of the FORGE artist development scheme.