The Covid Diaries 67 – Lion & Unicorn Theatre, AAAAA

A review of my first pub theatre outing post-lockdown: AAAAA by Proforça Theatre Company. Strong acting, interesting concept, I’m still a bit confused at the premise of a different play every night, but overall a good way back into theatre.

AAAAA [5A] – How Do You Review A Secret?

Shall I be very honest with you? I booked this play because Proforça Theatre Company were pretty much the first ones out of the gate putting tickets on sale, when I was in the pits of lockdown despair. It seemed like a faraway dream to actually be able to go and see a theatre performance, so imagine my delight when I was able to do just that! My enthusiasm means that I ended up seeing a preview, however. So please note that this is what my review is based on. I have been very careful to be fair so I hope that’s not an issue.

What is so secret about it? Well, on the Lion and Unicorn Theatre website, it says; “In order to re-capture the mystery, tension and anticipation of the return of live fringe theatre, no further details about the production will be released before performances commence.” And from the AAAAA programme: “A brand new piece of fringe theatre where no two shows are the same.” Who am I to ruin the surprise? So I will now attempt to review a production while simultaneously not telling you much about it, in case you want to go see it too. I’ve only used details which are available to audiences before they see the work itself.

A Strong Piece of Fringe Theatre

So yes, I will start by saying this was a strong piece of fringe theatre. And therefore a good introduction back into the genre. In case you go and you don’t feel the same way, all performances are ‘pay what you feel’. I found it an enjoyable hour, so paid accordingly.

Jess Barton and David Brady direct, and the set design is credited to Proforça Theatre Company. Whoever was behind the set design, it’s great – very simple yet effective. As you can see in my atmospheric image above, it’s all naked lightbulbs and writing on the walls. The writing is a mix of pop culture references and random thoughts: it reminded me of the factoid about how we filter out the huge majority of incoming information, as it would be overwhelming otherwise. The set for AAAAA is like a visual representation of this, while our character, “X” (played by Daniel Rainford) vocalises what it’s like when you are having trouble with this filtering. Rainford is very effective in the role, by turns powerful, frustrated, funny, and relatable.

One question I came away with is why no two shows are the same. What I saw was a perfectly good play; one which would engage audiences for the entirety of the run. And I still don’t know how one night is different from the next. Perhaps it might have helped if we knew going in that “the character will make choices at X point in the action” or “based on Y criteria, the outcome might change.” But as it stands, it’s only by going again that I would understand the changes.

Very mysterious, but perhaps a reason for you, dear reader, to go and get tickets so we can compare notes!

On its own merits: 3.5/5
Implementing Covid measures: 3.5/5

AAAAA on until 29 May 2021

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