The Establishment
Produced by Crescent Theatre Workshop
The Etcetera Theatre
Camden Town, London
Four women work for The Establishment. Sarah, Rita, Freddie and Elsie discuss the loss of their colleague Nadya.
In the minimalistic set, composed by four desks, four chairs and a telephone, the women bring up issues of female oppression. The themes are the social perception of women roles and their career paths obstructed by pregnancies.
With The Establishment playing the role of the infamous oppressor, the play attempts to show the anxieties and the struggles of womankind…
What I found disappointing is that the performance missed theatricality. By which I mean that the acting was often too naturalistic for the stage. The simplicity of the background and of the costumes (which consisted in plain white shirts and black skirts as work uniforms) combined with the mysterious feel of the plot (because you never really find out who The Establishment is) had suggested a more incisive deliverance. Hence you would have expected a performance stark enough to compensate for what is not told by the plot and for what is not shown in the setting, maybe an expressionistic act. Whereas what you were presented with was some sort of television, sitcom act, which I am not sure suited the minimalistic scenario.
The feminist themes were poignant, but of dubious relevance to the present times. This is not to say that feminist issues should no longer have their voice in theatre, because they should, but maybe scripts should be concerned with more up to date women problems.
Essentially, the piece is a cry for help uttered and repressed within the walls of a patriarchal society, a sort of feminist response to Kokoschka’s Mörder Hoffnung der Fauen (Murderer Hope of Women). The problem with it is that it cries way too softly and it responds way too timidly.
However the audience seemed entertained and the house was almost full, which prompts that The Establishment is receiving some attention and proving to be popular at the Camden Fringe Festival.
By Liza Adebisi
