In this retelling of the classic novel by H. G. Wells, the team behind Imitating the Dog (ITD) has done far more than merely a restage of the 1898 seminal science-fiction story. They have interrogated it.
This adaptation transforms the Victorian invasion narrative into a fractured, live-cinema experiment that challenges the audience’s perception of truth and human empathy.
The hallmark of an ITD production is its transparency of craft, and War of the Worlds is a clever and ambitious technical feat. The stage is a meticulously organised ‘film studio’ where four actor-technicians (Bonnie Baddoo, Morgan Bailey, Gareth Cassidy, and Amy Dunn) construct a film in real-time.
While a large central screen displays the ‘finished’ cinematic product, the stage below is a flurry of frantic, choreographed activity. Performers pivot between characters and camera operators, manipulating miniature sets and cardboard cut-outs to simulate the scale of the Martian devastation. The use of forced perspective and green-screen integration allows a single performer to appear as though they are standing amidst the smoldering ruins of a model-city. This dual-focus: watching both the illusion and its construction, creates a unique effect that prevents the audience from ever sinking into the comfort of passive spectatorship.
This production opens with Will Travers (played with a compelling, twitchy intensity by Gareth Cassidy) waking up from hospital with no-one about and with, what looks like, complete destruction of the world as he knew it. Obviously he is confused, for a lot of the time, as he tries to figure out what is going on and try to get home to his wife. Along the way he meets the odd human being who has survived the Martian invasion and he starts piecing together what’s happened. Although between his (possible) hallucinations from his hospital stay/injury, and the mentally disturbed humans he comes across, it’s a difficult fearful journey. He finds a car, finds his wife and head to Dover to escape to France. Does he get there? We’re not sure, we’re not quite sure if it was all real in the first place.
The portrayal of the story leaves many questions for the audience to ponder. If I were more intelligent, I am sure I would be questioning the socio-political subtext of social collapse, prejudice and paranoia and what happens when society turns on itself? But I’m not, I was thinking how much time and effort it must have taken to work out the ‘chorographical execution’ to create the film in real time.
The technical element of this show is amazing, however I would say the reliance on the screens did sometimes create a barrier to the emotional intimacy as the actors often perform breathily to camera lenses rather than to each other, maybe emphasising a world of isolation that mirrors our own digital silos. Though some may find the technical complexity distracting, the production remains a vital example of how digital technology can be used not just to decorate a stage, but to fundamentally redefine the theatre.
War of the Worlds is on at the New Wolsey Theatre until Saturday 14th March – click here for more info.
Photo Credit: Ed Waring
