It’s sweaty, it’s sweary, it’s uplifting and it’s everything theatre should be and more
Lemon Bucket Orkestra create a raucous atmosphere and it doesn’t matter that they’re screaming instructions at you in Ukrainian, the atmosphere in the crowd and the projections looming above the stage provides all the information you really need. Also when you’re handed a riot shield you generally don’t ask many questions, you just get stuck in – as well as recreating the experience of being in a riot it also reveals the ease with which people can slip into a mob mentality. Everyone in the crowd gets involved: building barricades, dishing out food to the crowd and even joining in the funeral march for our fallen brothers in arms, it’s amazing how quickly you feel connected to everyone else in the show and the strong desire to protect each other when the riot police arrive.
Directors Mark and Marichka Marczyk have created a unique experience that cuts through the media reports and reminds us of the human experience of revolt that we rarely see in Britain. There are too many creatives involved to credit but every component works together seamlessly to create such an all-encompassing experience: the sound and lighting highlights the brutality of revolution and the projections remind us to think and consider why the revolution is taking place and what everyone is fighting for in the first place.
It’s sweaty, it’s sweary, it’s uplifting and it’s everything theatre should be and more – everyone, everywhere should see it.
