#EdFringe: War of the Worlds – Review
★★★★ 1/2
Click bait and fake news bring War of the Worlds into the 21st century in this powerful, fast paced play.
Four versatile actors, Jess Mabel Jones, Julian Spooner, Amalia Vitale and Matthew Wells, bring unimaginable energy and dedication to the fast paced changes in character, as they all play Orson Welles and a variety of other characters. There are no weak links in this cast.
Spooner and Wells, who are also the artistic directors of Rhum & Clay, in addition to being in the show, were fascinated with the mythology and iconography surrounding the events of Orson Welles’ 1938 radio play The War of the Worlds, and how convincingly real it was to listeners. Spooner made the journey that Meena, the podcaster character (played by Mabel Jones), makes to the USA to research and find out more and see how the small town of Grovers Mill, New Jersey was affected and now commemorates the broadcast.
The show follows how the hysteria of the broadcast led a family to flee, and leave behind their daughter, and how the repercussions are felt across generations, paired with the revival of the concept of radio play through podcast. We then see the effect of fake news in the modern era and how it’s creating misinformation and paranoia in the current day.
Written by Isley Lynn, it’s a completely engrossing show that jumps timelines and countries with great pace. It’s complete with family issues, ethical moral dilemmas around chasing a story and the lengths we go to get an angle, and the responsibility of the journalist to tell the truth, or to tell a good story. It weaves all of these themes across the late 1930s and now with humour, and the presentation is full of fanastic production values, great use of space and an inventive set by Bethany Wells.
Brilliant lighting by Nick Flintoff and Pete Maxey creates dramatic silhouettes and quickly transforms the space. The show is incredibly sound tracked and slick in its tech, with the tech box becoming part of the set, as both running the show and creating the podcast within the show.
The show has stuck with me in the days prior to seeing, and it’s selling out for good reasons – it’s engaging, a modern take on a classic story and it pushes the boundaries and makes audiences think on storytelling and truth.
War of the Worlds plays at Pleasance Courtyard Forth until 26th August. More info.
