back to article Golem: Prominent plasticine phallus caught in tech consumerist nightmare

Golem, coming straight from a critically acclaimed run at London's Young Vic, presents us with a modernist cautionary tale of mass media manipulation and conspicuous consumerism. Foremost in my mind on attending this show produced by multi award-winning theatre company 1927 – well-known for its visually arresting performance …

  1. david bates

    Im assuming Golem, like Alice, is playing in London.

    You'd be AMAZED at how little use this is to the bulk of us who don't live in London. Any chance of slumming it at provincial theatres where most of your readers have to go for culture?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Any chance of slumming it at provincial theatres where most of your readers have to go for culture?"

      Any provincial theatre, outside the big cities, knows what puts bums on seats. It's either the local drama society doing a well-loved musical - or a traditional pantomime with a lesser known member of Corrie or East Enders. The nearest it can afford to get to something else is a single showing of a cult film.

      Like many things it appears the 1960s was probably the zenith of provincial theatre. There would often be a large theatre and sometimes a new more experimental one like the Sheffield Crucible or the Stoke-on-Trent Vic.

      Then in the following decades the larger theatres and even the cinemas started to close - often with round the clock TV channels being blamed. The experimental theatres had to choose more reliably commercial productions to eke out their Arts Council grants.

      London has two things going for it - a good transport system and a large, relatively affluent population. It also has a high number of graduated drama students "resting" in zero-hour service industries. Often on a subsistence existence supported by the Bank of Mum & Dad - while acting for free in the hope of a break into regular paid roles. Someone who wants to do something experimental has a cast champing at the bit - anxious for the smell of greasepaint and hopefully the roar of the crowd. A good review is deemed useful on their CV.

      One would expect Birmingham and Manchester to be similar. Edinburgh has a compact size which helps their annual festival - but the drama players are mostly from anywhere but Edinburgh.

      1. mgumn

        Untrue?

        My feeling is that this is untrue.

        Bath would be an example of a very small city with an extremely vibrant theatre scene. I would have to concede that this may be a function of the large number of affluent people close-by.

        I echo the first comment that arts coverage in the media is hopelessly London-centric which helps to perpetuate London's dominance in the arts. You only have to listen to Front Row to get the feeling that little of cultural import happens outside of the M25.

    2. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
      Pint

      While live theatre outside our main cities may sometimes be disappointing a number of cinemas are now carrying live broadcasts of some of London's theatre and opera productions. Unfortunately the number doing so and the presentations are somewhat limited but at least it is doing something.

    3. phil dude
      Coat

      tech angle?

      I saw this reviewed on BBC Click as a tech-art article.

      Did I miss the link in the El Reg article....

      P.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Meh

      I'm guessing as the Reg staff are based in London, it would hardly be worth their while paying a few hundred quid to travel up North to see potentially a crap show.

      It's a tech journal after all.

      I live nr Brum and if I want to find out about shows I simply subscribe to the local theaters. One plus side, is a smaller theaters around here often get some of the big comedy acts before they hit the main theaters and tickets cost about a tenner.

  2. ecofeco Silver badge

    Oh SNAP!

    So they got away with slamming the very hipsters who came and watched.

    I'm always impressed when that happens. Reminds me of Beavis and Butthead. They deliberately skewered the very audience they appealed to.

    Other than that, it looks like a good satire of modern city life. Would also have loved to seen the Alice's Adventures Underground installation I saw reviewed here last week. Alas, even living in one of the 2nd tier, largest cities on earth, it will NEVER make it here.

  3. Teiwaz

    Provincial Theatres

    I've been surprised on occassion...

    I have seen a few (not many, but a few) good theatre stagings done in the provinces (mostly touring groups).

    You really have to keep an eye on the local listings (which can be hard to keep hope and interest alive among the over 95% of kids manitees and unattracts of the cloned musicals that keep these places ticking over) most of the year).

    (any spellings and typos were initially accidental and kept in/exagerrated 'cause they fitted as better)

    1. James R Grinter

      Re: Provincial Theatres

      indeed. This play has already been performed in Harrogate, Brighton, and Salzburg. Up next after London would appear to be Taipei! and Paris.

    2. mgumn

      Re: Provincial Theatres

      Bloody manitees, coming over here, ruining our theatre etc.

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