Assessment: What if They Ate the Child, Kings Head Theatre
In a whimsical fusion harking back to Alice in Wonderland meets Determined Housewives, What if They Ate the Child? catapults audiences right into a kaleidoscope of vibrant chaos, set towards a backdrop of Fifties picture-perfect Americana with a deliciously rotten core. With a Lynchian high quality to the nightmarish forces taking part in beneath, this manufacturing is not one to be intellectualised however skilled. There’s a whirlwind of questions that will not go away audiences detached, marking an incredible success for the duo behind all of it. Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland play two good 50s housewives partaking in a menial dialog about husbands, infants, neighbours and meals.…
Score
80
Wonderful
A surreal and nightmarish tackle 50s Determined Housewives.
In a whimsical fusion harking back to Alice in Wonderland meets Determined Housewives, What if They Ate the Child? catapults audiences right into a kaleidoscope of vibrant chaos, set towards a backdrop of Fifties picture-perfect Americana with a deliciously rotten core. With a Lynchian high quality to the nightmarish forces taking part in beneath, this manufacturing isn’t one to be intellectualised however skilled. There’s a whirlwind of questions that received’t go away audiences detached, marking an incredible success for the duo behind all of it.
Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland play two good 50s housewives partaking in a menial dialog about husbands, infants, neighbours and meals. What units this aside is their supply and synchronicity. Right here, each smile is as synthetic as their doll-like make-up. Actuality blurs with nightmares in good timing and choreographed precision, because the forged masterfully mirrors one another’s actions, resulting in uproarious laughter and gasps of astonishment.
On the coronary heart of this twisted story lies the query: ‘What’s effervescent beneath that pretend smile?’ Via a sequence of repetitive, mundane conversations, the 2 good housewives’ relationship turns into clearer and each repetition reveals a brand new layer. Themes like surveillance, cannibalism, and queerness, to not point out the McCarthyism period – an idealised interval in American historical past marked by paranoia – unfold because the plot progresses.
Neighbours that originally appear benign reveal themselves to be catalysts for life-altering occasions, taking part in to the mischievous antics of a soundtrack starting from Beastie Boys to Billie Eilish. But, amidst the chaos and absurdity, there’s a way to the insanity — a surreal symmetry that binds the story collectively like a macabre dance.
Every character is a caricature, exaggerated to the purpose of hilarity but grounded simply sufficient to resonate with the viewers on a primal degree. Via its kooky type and completely imperfect portrayal of 50s suburban life, the efficiency invitations viewers to take pleasure in a sensory expertise the place nightmares creep ever nearer, blurring the road between comedy and tragedy into oblivion.
The manufacturing excels on each degree, marking an incredible triumph for the American duo. Whereas one could also be left with a way of not absolutely greedy the play’s overarching theme, it hardly issues, because the expertise itself is a charming journey that takes you on an exciting trip. So seize a seat, buckle up, and put together to be swept away on a rollercoaster trip by means of the twisted minds of determined housewives who’re something however determined for a slice of the American dream.
Written by : Xhloe Rice & Natasha Roland Lighting Design: Angelo Sagnelli Produced by: Nicholas Abrams & Richard Williams in affiliation with theSpaceUK
What if They Ate the Child? performs at King’s Head Theatre till 7 April. Additional info and bookings might be discovered right here.
