I had been given the opportunity to see ‘Truth or Dare…’ at the Unicorn Theatre by the Young Reporters Scheme. This strange but beautiful performance touched me in a way that wasn’t expected. The combination of important worldly issues such as depression, abuse, fears and stress and many more were expressed thoughtfully in ‘Truth or Dare…’
Lies Pauwels, the director of ‘Truth or Dare…’ uses 10 actors consisting of 3 models, a priest and 7 young adults with deep psychological issues. Using abstract backdrops and interesting costumes, Pauwels wanted to convey to the audience how our own personal and intimate issues can shape the beings that we are today. At one point in the performance the entire cast began to sing Pete Seeger’s ‘We shall overcome’ to address each and all of the cast’s issues. This really touched me as it addressed some of the issues in my life such as pain and loss. Initially when I began to watch ‘Truth or Dare…’, I wanted to keep an open mind and as the show progressed it connected with me on so many personal levels which I found intriguing.
At the beginning of the performance there were about 8 or 9 seats lined up on the stage and the entire cast were wearing black which could symbolise their deep emotional issues. Black usually represents dark and morbid expressions. They all sat down and were slowly falling off their chairs and lying on the floor. There was another scene that was really interesting as there was a woman who was hanging from the ceiling and flying with an unusual backdrop behind her.
I interviewed Arjuna Borsetty, he described ‘Truth or Dare…’ as “Weird, Chaotic and Interesting”, he rated this show 2 out of 5 ,Borsetty also said that ‘Truth or Dare...’ will connect to you in different situations. I also spoke to a woman called Nina S she described ‘Truth or Dare…’ as “Huge, Confusing and Beautiful”, she was still processing her reactions to the performance.
Overall I would highly recommend ‘Truth or Dare…’ as it was a fabulous performance and the cast were amazing at portraying so many issues and emotions. I would also recommend seeing other theatre performances at the Unicorn Theatre in London Bridge as the staff were very police and I enjoyed the atmosphere and décor inside.
