An absolute triumph of neurodivergent creativity and ingenuity
NOW NOT NOW, by production company Cade & MacAskill, defies a majority of categorisation attempts from the get-go. As the audience settle into their seats, Rosana Cade (they/them) and Ivor MacAskill (he/him) explain through captions and dialogue how the show will go. The audience are encouraged to leave the space when they want, to tic and stim if needed, and are given a chance to hear how loud the audio will be, and how bright the lights will be. This accessibility information is presented in the duo’s trademark kind, humorous manner. As Cade and MacAskill begin their performance, proclaiming that the show will start, now, the audience scan about the stage… to see both performers moving in exaggerated slow-motion. This is not, everyone quickly understands, a typical theatrical experience.
And experience truly is the correct word to use. The audience are treated to a ninety minute unforgettable experience beyond genre or quick description: from the innovative use of the caption-screens, portraying where the audio is coming from in the room and the tone/speed the performers use, to the incorporation of a camera, filming each character in various moments, NOW NOT NOW joyfully transitions between modes of performance. What happens, the show asks, when an individual’s sense of time fails to match the wider societal understanding of time? Alongside co-creators Tim Spooner (he/him) and Yas Clarke (he/they), Cade and MacAskill turn time into their companion throughout NOW NOT NOW, allowing the audience to join them as they share their experiments involving and research into time and the strange passage of it.
The show is authentically and unapologetically neurodivergent. Neurodivergence and accessibility is built intelligently and successfully into the very foundations of the production, elevating it to the next level. Its use of multiple visual elements, from screens and captions to live theatre, charmingly and cleverly encapsulates a neurodivergent rediversion of attention, allowing all audience members to experience the sometimes disorienting, sometimes exciting whirlwind of focus. Particularly relatable to a neurodivergent audience comes the moments where Cade rushes about at top speed, variously looking for their keys, cutting a neverending cucumber, waiting for their toast to pop up, and trying to write their mum a birthday poem, over and over, while MacAskill sits in his rocking chair serenely knitting, moving at a snail’s pace from one finished task to another. Cade’s repetitive, frantic movements and the contrasting placidity of MacAskill makes for a powerful watch in a way that is both painfully true to neurodivergent experience and wildly funny.
Cade and MacAskill’s ambition, hard-work, and creativity have paid off enormously. Beyond the brilliance of the show is its fantastic focus on accessibility, which is not just an afterthought: it is an essential component of the show, both inside and outside of the theatre. Audiences are offered stim toys (also known as fidget toys) and can watch captions, which jiggle when the performers’ voices waver, stretch out when words are elongated, and overlap when performers speak in unison. Anybody with an interest in theatre will find this production an enlightening, thought-provoking experience, experiencing ways in which accessibility can be turned into part of the show. NOW NOT NOW is a tour de force from Cade and MacAskill, and will find an adoring audience wherever it goes.
NOW NOT NOW performed at the Tramway on 30th and 31st October in Glasgow, but will transfer to Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in London as part of the KUNSTY programme for Thursday 5th and Friday 6th November. Tickets here.