The best piece of original theatre this fringe; You’ll hold onto every word and uncomfortable question it poses.
Between social media, the internet, we live in an age where information is distributed more than ever. Everyday we have instant communication with loved ones, communities, and every horror present in the world. Every school shooting, bombing, act of police violence, or mental health episode has a chance of being filmed and posted online for millions to see, and between social media’s drive for clicks and humans’ morbid curiosity, we see them all. Static Lives asks genuinely thought provoking questions on what happens both us as a society, and psychologically when we are present to this suffering almost constantly.
Adam (Luke Ward)is a social media moderator who has to review the flagged inappropriate videos on social media, and one night happens upon someone’s suicide. This becomes the straw that breaks the camel’s back, dropping him into an existentialist nightmare. Meanwhile his best friend Ben (Alex Braglewicz) struggles to understand how he still cares so much, and urges him to just enjoy a night out together. The two together create this beautiful dialectic as they try to probe each other’s psyche trying to understand one another’s reaction to the constant supply of suffering. The play is confident enough to avoid an oversimplified resolution, and is strong in its enthralling dialogue that balances the humour of best friends with a dissection of the existentialism both face.
Accompanying this are these dance sequences often in dark, red light, sometimes literal as in their visit to the club as part of their night out, and sometimes more metaphysical. These are choreographed incredibly well, with Ben and Adam moving as mirrors of each other. Each evokes the contradictory feelings of ecstasy in the characters but always showing a hint of the inner turmoil each face, calm in the eye of the storm. Similarly the dynamic between the actors really does sell a life long friendship, Adam’s opening scene is filled with dread after closing the suicidal livestream only for Ben to walk into his room with an expletive filled greeting. Although they tussle and argue more and more, there is always this sense of love between them, that they are both struggling for the same peace but don’t know how the other manages (in their dysfunctional manner).
Adam’s reaction is to become overwhelmed by sadness, his empathy leads him to what the late philosopher Mark Fischer would call ‘reflexive impotence’, Adam ‘knows things are bad, but more than that, they know they can’t do anything about it’. His empathy for all this suffering has instead paralysed him like so many of us today are. Moreso his job is one where his employer directly profits from the relationship between people’s morbid curiosity and the recording of every gruesome tragedy online, and in turn so does Adam. Although the play focuses on the interpersonal, Adam’s job lets you draw the link that his subjective alienation is drawn from a wider economic circumstance where private companies profit off of the proliferation of morbid curiosities.
Giving his best friend Ben an opposing reaction to the same phenomena, in ironic self detachment, allows the play to create a literal dialogue that serves as a mirror for the audience. As the play puts forward no simple solution or resolution you must provide your own, or at least see where you fit in the sliding scale from Adam to Ben. Each are often right in their criticism of each other’s stance. Ben points out how feeling sad for a tragedy materially does nothing, and often only serves as interpassivity, the empathetic suffering is performed in place of really doing anything meaningful. Similarly Adam’s criticism that not feeling at least a bit overwhelmed by all this suffering means something emotionally, spiritually has died or taken from Ben is one that Ben eventually concedes. As both verbally lash out you will willingly or not have to reflect on how you respond to the same conundrum, and the answers may not be comfortable.
Static Lives is the best piece of Original theatre I’ve seen at this fringe. As opposed to many other shows dealing with contemporary, topical themes of the day it is confident enough not to force a shallow, placating speech or conclusion in its end. It will make you question how you react to an ever connected and alienating world. The dialogue is often suffocating, giving little rhetorical wiggle room to just ignore the questions posed, the moments of brevity will always tease you with the empty option of just having fun, and ignoring the moral questions – but you won’t be able to. Luke and Ben are electrifying on stage together, and the writing left me hanging on every word. It’s a play full of important and tough questions that will unsettle you with the answers it provokes.
Static Lives was performing at theSpace@Niddry Street. https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/static-lives