ED2015 4/5 Reviews ED2015 Theatre Reviews

Walking The Tightrope, The Tension Between Art And Politics (Offstage Theatre / Underbelly Productions)

By Sarah Murphy | Published on Thursday 27 August 2015

WTR trod a delicate line by refusing to take a single standpoint on the artistic freedom debate, as demonstrated by its format: eight separate response-pieces. In a beautifully riled tirade, Julian Stolzenberg ties himself up in knots trying to make sense of an artistic world which can’t escape politics, muddied by issues of corrupt funding, shadily-motivated censorship. He reaches boiling point before a conclusion. I can’t praise the writers enough for managing to condense seething, of-the-moment controversies into clever, digestible drama, all whilst living through the realities. WTR is brutal, sometimes explicitly so – Neil LaBute’s ‘Exhibit A’ is the obvious example here, a shock-tactic piece clearly intended to polarise audiences. Slick, razor-sharp, and simmering with righteous anger throughout.

Underbelly Topside, until 31 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Sarah Murphy]