Camden Fringe: – A Theatre Show: the ‘doomed struggle to survive’

Fear not: A Theatre Show. Photograph: Precarious Theatre

Will a daring heist allow a company of aspiring actors to stage their brilliant new play?

Following last year’s much-appreciated Failure Studies, the opening night of Precarious Theatre’s 2023 Camden Fringe outing, A Theatre Show, drew an impressive crowd.

And they were not disappointed. Written by Marco Biasioli and directed by Liam Grogan, the drama serves up a subtle take on the role of the arts in contemporary society.

The angle is, on the face of it, almost unbearably bleak – the doomed struggle of theatre to survive in a world dominated by automation, commodification and the demeaning motivational discourses of large corporations.

But lest you think this a somewhat lugubrious topic, fear not, as the production is a delightful action-packed romp that keeps you chuckling as you watch Emma (Francesca Maria Izzo), Billy (David Allen), Jade (Lydia Waller) and Carl (Joe Williamson) come up with ever wilder ideas for how to remain practising thespians.

Excellent comic rhythm and particularly good character renditions by Daniel Short in the roles of successive theatre directors and policeman tether the audience to the end.

A Theatre Show
Until 27 August 2023
Camden People’s Theatre
58-60 Hampstead Road
NW1 2PY