An inventive mix of magic and surreal theatre, with clever ideas but uneven execution.
Backstage takes an intriguing idea and gradually builds an unsettling world around it. After being invited backstage following a cabaret performance on a luxury cruise ship, Lena finds herself unable to make her way back to the passenger area. What initially seems like a simple backstage tour becomes increasingly strange as rehearsals, routines and reality begin to blur. The production describes itself as a psychological thriller combining live magic, dark comedy and surreal theatre, exploring identity, belonging and the ways we can lose ourselves in places that unexpectedly feel like home.
The opening is not the strongest part of the production. It takes some time for the story to establish its rhythm, while there are also moments later in the performance where the pauses between lines feel slightly too long. This may partly be a limitation of watching a recording rather than experiencing the production live, particularly for a piece that relies heavily on atmosphere and the relationship between performers and audience.
As the show progresses, more is revealed about Lena, helping to build a clearer picture of who she is and why she responds to the backstage world as she does. The story moves between these more intimate backstage moments and the live cabaret performance taking place aboard the cruise ship. The magic tricks performed by the actors are among the more enjoyable elements, particularly when the production plays with them in a tongue-in-cheek way. These moments add a welcome sense of playfulness to an otherwise increasingly unsettling story.
One of the more interesting ideas is the distinction between the person in the auditorium and the person on stage. In the audience, a person has a name; once on stage, they become a function. It is an effective observation about performance and identity, fitting neatly with the show’s wider interest in the roles people take on and the ways those roles can begin to define them.
There is also an interesting contradiction at the heart of Lena’s journey. She initially appears to be fighting against the system she has found herself trapped within, only to eventually become convinced to participate in it. That shift raises questions about conformity, belonging and whether finding a place within a system necessarily means giving something of yourself up to it. The question of whether fate can be changed is also raised during the show, although the eventual conclusion does not feel entirely convincing as the story’s central moral.
For this reviewer, there was also a little too much direct engagement with the audience. Audience interaction can work particularly well in immersive theatre, but here it occasionally felt as though the production was drawing attention to the fact that it was a performance, rather than allowing the atmosphere to speak for itself.
There are nevertheless some clever ideas here, particularly in the way Backstage uses magic and theatrical conventions to explore identity. The production’s central concept is stronger than its execution in places, with the pacing and some of the audience interaction preventing it from having quite the impact it might otherwise achieve.
As the production was viewed as a recording rather than experienced live, some elements of the experience, particularly the immersive atmosphere and relationship between performers and audience, may not translate fully to the screen. That is worth bearing in mind. Even so, Backstage offers an inventive combination of magic, surreal theatre and psychological suspense, with enough interesting ideas to make it a worthwhile watch, even if not all of them land with equal force.