THEATRE REVIEW: Cruelty - The King's Arms, Salford.

This is the second show I’ve seen at The Greater Manchester Fringe about the downside of smart phones and social media. They are both very different shows. ‘Cruelty’ was brought to us by Faceless Ventures, who say they devise live action immersive theatre. Over the last decade, they have created underground shows that have been a feast for all the senses. They have also been referenced in The New York Times. The cold and sinister Crypt theatre space in The King’s Arms was the best choice in presenting this experimental piece.

‘Cruelty’ took the position that people who use addictive social media platforms are transformed into sick and repressed beings. They aimed to rid the audience of their technological cravings and infatuation and emancipate each of us within the 45 minute time-frame. They wanted to shock us and wake us up to the brutal truth.

Each scene was like a new social media post on a newsfeed: displaying different areas of our lives in how we use phones and social media apps. Even how some of the ensemble moved around the stage creatively linked to clicking, swiping left or right on dating apps. What tied everything together was this grotesque and menacing circus theme. The main character of The Ring Master represented the little devil on our shoulders; a personified version of our dark and addictive thought patterns. It’s difficult to play to the performance heights of a circus when you’re in a small room with around ten audience members. But, the ensemble made it work after the first ten minutes or so. The main actor eased into his role more as the performance played on, gradually becoming more authoritarian and creepy.

The audience participation was thought provoking and considered. It tested how far we would be willing to go, even until our moral values stopped us. That’s not to say you were made to feel terrified throughout. The Ring Master may have been an Evil Master Manipulator but he still made you feel comfortable enough to participate. You were asked to do more as the show went on. How we behave online versus how we act offline was exposed as well. The flashing colourful lights added to the circus theme spectacle.

Now we come to the elephant in the room: you watch this show which is somewhat anti-social media or at least supports a reduced usage of it, but our seats have leaflets advertising Faceless Ventures’ social media handles. The exploration of some of the positives and advantages of social media would have made this show more rounded and balanced, I feel. That would be the main constructive criticism for this performance. Towards the end, snippets of wording in the script crossed into preachy territory too.

Weighing up what I’ve written, the performance was very good. ‘Cruelty’ had kind intentions in raising awareness of the darker side to our technological lifestyles, then letting us come to a decision about how we live our lives. Faceless Ventures’ ability to construct a sinister yet welcoming, mysterious and immersive experience was a definite strength of this performance. It was informative, playful, and disturbing.

Reviewer - Sam Lowe
on - 13/7/19