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Move Fast and Break Things

Move Fast and Break Things

Sumerhall

Run complete

It is hard to make data exciting on the stage. Move Fast and Break Things by Freight Theatre is a “deep dive into datasphere”, specifically about the elusive Amit Patel, an early employee of Google who was instrumental to the development of behavioural analytics – maybe. The show is split into two strands – one uses live video and puppetry to transform Amit into a figure of biblical proportions, and the other focuses on the two theatre-makers, Julia Pilkington and Anna-Kate Golding, arguing flirtatiously over how best to tell his story.

The former is a showcase of striking visuals: light is manipulated through sheets and plastic pallets, tiny plastic feet traverse tiny desert landscapes, and Pilkington and Golding peer sinisterly into dollhouses to represent data surveillance. But all that visual ambition is undermined. Firstly, by the excessively epic writing (“chaos has many faces”, “for all people the future ceased to exist”) and secondly by their failure to adequately explain why Amit Patel is important. The emphasis is placed on his secretive existence rather than what he actually did during this time at Google, leaving the audience to sift through the performance as they watch it looking for clues as to why they should care.

The other strand never comes together at all. The discussion on the ethics of doxxing holds some interest, but there is too much focus on the rocky relationship between Pilkington and Golding’s performance personas. The meta experimentation crosses the line into self-indulgence, and it becomes hard to decipher what any of it signifies. Freight Theatre’s ambition is admirable, but they have fallen down a rabbit hole in their devising process and left the audience behind.

Two stars

Flora Gosling