Reset captures something essential about performance itself: its ability to come alive in the unexpected.
Downstairs at Bold Theatre in Elephant and Castle, audiences are in for a real treat. Reset, a night of performance vignettes, celebrates not only the three year anniversary of the theatre’s weekly actor gym, but also the joy of embracing uncertainty and change as catalysts for creativity.
The night features six groups of actors whose scenes are assigned on the day. However, unlike traditional performance nights that present prepared pieces, Reset challenges actors by making almost every aspect of a scene subject to change. The mechanics are simple. Actors first perform their scenes, offering an initial interpretation before everything shifts in unpredictable directions shaped by chance and audience intervention. Then, facilitators draw notes of alternative circumstances for the scene at random from two boxes onstage, and the audience chooses which changes they are most excited about, redirecting the scene in real time.
Scene 1: One Day by David Nicholls, performed by Madeleine Price and Elly Roberts
The scene unfolds around the surfacing of an unspoken history between two friends. The reset sent it down an entirely unexpected path, layering absurd new circumstances onto the original situation. The collision exposed the scene’s comic potential, making it delightfully unpredictable and a joy to watch.
Scene 2: Conversations After Sex by Mark O’Halloran, performed by Aiyana Bartlett and Ferdinand McKay
Aiyana and Ferdinand gave the scene a moving, bittersweet emotional register, offering a natural and believable chemistry between the two characters from the first reading. By changing the characters’ relationship to siblings, the second take was infused with playfulness and childlike joy while preserving the sadness beneath.
Scene 3: Walden by Amy Berryman, performed by Catriona Stirling, Charlie James-Howard, and Charlotte Blackwood
Initially exploring the awkward reunion of two siblings as one prepares to marry, the scene took a particularly bold turn after the reset, exploring secrecy and its lingering effects: what do we conceal, and what does that concealment cost?
Scene 4: Palm Springs by Andy Siara and Max Barbakow, performed by Lisa Vetta and Eoin Sweeney
Lisa and Eoin’s first reading was immediately compelling. Their attentive listening drew the audience in, bringing a distant sci-fi setting close to reality. Lisa brought a natural grounded presence to the role, while Eoin established a clear and distinctive character even within the script-in-hand format. Following the redirection, the second take veered sharply into comedy, revealing two characters who quietly loathe one another. It was an especially entertaining transformation to watch unfold.
Scene 5: Almost, Maine by John Cariani, performed by Kieran Robson
This scene presented a different challenge. Robson’s scene partner was unable to attend, so an audience member was invited to step into the role. Yet the piece proved perfectly suited to the experiment. Robson and Gia embodied two completely different personalities and gave the scene full of spontaneity and surprise.
Scene 6: Schitt’s Creek by Kevin White and Daniel Levy, performed by Henry Alexander Bryan and Ronan Quiniou
The first take was immensely charming, with comedy emerging naturally and the chemistry between Ronan and Nery entirely convincing. It was fascinating to watch how the dynamic shifts once the actors switch roles after the reset. One character became more bitter, the other warm and grounded, yet their chemistry continued to anchor the scene, leading to a heartwarming end.
People often say that theatre is about characters navigating uncertainty, and the pleasure of watching actors tackle circumstances they have never rehearsed is more than evident at Reset. The format seems to reject perfection, yet in doing so, it captures something essential about performance itself: its ability to come alive in the unexpected.