“A surprisingly laugh-free event” Max Mulvany ★★★★★

A Brief History of Time…and Other Muses ★★★★★

Regents Park, Friday 28th November 2009, 8:30pm

Review by Max Mulvany

Considering the writer and director of this sprawling epic had the entire history of the whole world ever ever to muse over this was a surprisingly laugh-free event.  The large ensemble cast could not be blamed for dashing their sometimes witty lines when they were only able to maintain a character for roughly five seconds before the next De Lorian drag race into something completely unrelated. Most bemusing of all was the inclusion of nearly five minutes of repetitive dancing, (including Morris dancing!), which raised a chuckle for about ten seconds, and after the twelfth run-through began to generate feelings of intense frustration. Some of the genuinely talented cast members were losing precious minutes thus engaged, making it difficult afterward to pick which one might have been a standout. One aspect that the whole cast are to be commended on is their continuous energy which never failed despite multiple sword fights, attempts to burst through the fourth wall and other fast-paced movements around the stage. Were it not for the rather bizarre inclusion of a jarringly well performed (and long) scene fromSarah Kane towards the end, the play might have borne itself out on its own unstoppable momentum. But on having reached the present, and in fact having nothing to say about that, the play ended on a rather disconsolate note.