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Mr Burns review - rebuilding America on fragments of pop culture Mr Burns review – rebuilding the US on fragments of pop culture
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A pattern is beginning to emerge at the Almeida under Rupert Goold; one that offers a bleakly apocalyptic vision of the future. It was there, by extension, in 1984 and even in Charles III with its image of a kingdom descending into civil war. But it is taken much further in this weird, but only intermittently wonderful, "post-electric play" by Anne Washburn that envisages a US in the grip of a nuclear meltdown.A pattern is beginning to emerge at the Almeida under Rupert Goold; one that offers a bleakly apocalyptic vision of the future. It was there, by extension, in 1984 and even in Charles III with its image of a kingdom descending into civil war. But it is taken much further in this weird, but only intermittently wonderful, "post-electric play" by Anne Washburn that envisages a US in the grip of a nuclear meltdown.
Washburn's main idea is that the nation would be sustained by its collective memory of popular culture: in particular, an episode of The Simpsons called Cape Feare which was a spoof of two celebrated Hollywood movies. In the first of three acts, we see a group of survivors of a radioactive explosion sitting round a campfire reliving that particular Simpsons segment in graphic detail.Washburn's main idea is that the nation would be sustained by its collective memory of popular culture: in particular, an episode of The Simpsons called Cape Feare which was a spoof of two celebrated Hollywood movies. In the first of three acts, we see a group of survivors of a radioactive explosion sitting round a campfire reliving that particular Simpsons segment in graphic detail.
Seven years on, they have become one of a number of groups touring the country with live reruns of popular TV shows. And finally we see how folk memory takes the form of exotic chorales based not just on The Simpsons but on Hollywood horror movies.Seven years on, they have become one of a number of groups touring the country with live reruns of popular TV shows. And finally we see how folk memory takes the form of exotic chorales based not just on The Simpsons but on Hollywood horror movies.
Washburn's play is a tissue of references: Night of the Hunter, Friday the 13th and even The Mikado are all in there. One of the funniest moments shows an intruder into the campfire scene establishing his credentials by launching into Three Little Maids From School. And there are some good scenes which recapture the mad comedy of The Simpsons. As the family flee from the predatory terror of Sideshow Bob, they are offered help under the FBI witness protection programme: Homer, however, shows a moronic inability to respond to his new false identity.Washburn's play is a tissue of references: Night of the Hunter, Friday the 13th and even The Mikado are all in there. One of the funniest moments shows an intruder into the campfire scene establishing his credentials by launching into Three Little Maids From School. And there are some good scenes which recapture the mad comedy of The Simpsons. As the family flee from the predatory terror of Sideshow Bob, they are offered help under the FBI witness protection programme: Homer, however, shows a moronic inability to respond to his new false identity.
Clearly Washburn is on to something in suggesting that, in the event of some future catastrophe, people would cling to their recollections of TV shows rather than Shakespeare or the Bible. But her play also suffers from its reliance on one particular episode of a cartoon comedy. Aficionados chuckle knowingly at every quotation from the original. If, however, you stumbled into the theatre knowing nothing of The Simpsons, you'd be totally lost. And, while the play develops into a critique of capitalism showing how rival companies would soon be at war with each other, it also smacks of cultural imperialism: the assumption that we are all enslaved by American TV comedy.Clearly Washburn is on to something in suggesting that, in the event of some future catastrophe, people would cling to their recollections of TV shows rather than Shakespeare or the Bible. But her play also suffers from its reliance on one particular episode of a cartoon comedy. Aficionados chuckle knowingly at every quotation from the original. If, however, you stumbled into the theatre knowing nothing of The Simpsons, you'd be totally lost. And, while the play develops into a critique of capitalism showing how rival companies would soon be at war with each other, it also smacks of cultural imperialism: the assumption that we are all enslaved by American TV comedy.
It is certainly a strange show. The first part is played in penumbral darkness: the last part, with a score by Orlando Gough and Michael Henry, lapses into a semi-ironic optimism. But I was never bored and Robert Icke's production does justice to the material: it is especially good in the second act where people cling to memories of everything from chablis to Diet Coke to establish a connection to a pre-apocalypse world.It is certainly a strange show. The first part is played in penumbral darkness: the last part, with a score by Orlando Gough and Michael Henry, lapses into a semi-ironic optimism. But I was never bored and Robert Icke's production does justice to the material: it is especially good in the second act where people cling to memories of everything from chablis to Diet Coke to establish a connection to a pre-apocalypse world.
And, although the performers are often disguised either by the pervading gloom or by masks, there are visibly good contributions from Jenna Russell, Demetri Goritsas, Annabel Scholey and Adrian der Gregorian.And, although the performers are often disguised either by the pervading gloom or by masks, there are visibly good contributions from Jenna Russell, Demetri Goritsas, Annabel Scholey and Adrian der Gregorian.
In the end, it feels like a cult show; one that will primarily appeal to Simpsons addicts. But, while it raises valid questions about what will endure after a future disaster, I find it a melancholy thought that art, architecture and literature may perish in the collective memory but a popular TV show will be the last relic of western civilisation.In the end, it feels like a cult show; one that will primarily appeal to Simpsons addicts. But, while it raises valid questions about what will endure after a future disaster, I find it a melancholy thought that art, architecture and literature may perish in the collective memory but a popular TV show will be the last relic of western civilisation.
• Until 26 July. Box office: 020-7359 4404. Venue: Almeida theatre.