Minority Report, UK Tour Review
The cast of Minority Report. (Photo by Marc Brenner)Reviewer - Natasha
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
Triggers and Advisories: This production contains strong language, violence and sexual references. It contains flashing and strobe lighting, moving video imagery, theatrical smoke/haze, blood and loud and sudden noises.
The World Premiere of the stage adaptation of Minority Report has opened at Nottingham Playhouse and it’s an incredibly impressive piece of theatre. Loosely based on a 1956 science fiction novella by Philip K Dick (Bladerunner, A Scanner Darkly), the play is set in an imagined, (scarily) imminent future, where murderers are punished before they have even committed their crime. Succinctly contained within a one act 90-minute performance, this tense and atmospheric thriller directly engages the audience with stunning visuals, movement and drama.
Audience-goers may already be familiar with the 2002 Spielberg film starring Tom Cruise and Nottingham’s own Samantha Morton. Director Max Webster and his creative team, however, adeptly transform the source material for the stage without any need for movie set comparisons. There is scope, particularly within the magnificent space of Nottingham Playhouse, for a well-realised, convincing science fiction drama to be set. The entire height and depth of the stage are used highly effectively to house a dystopian mise en scéne. This is combined with impressive lighting, video projections, Nicola T Chang’s evocative score, minimalist interiors and geometrically intricate cityscapes to convey a vision of the not-too-distant future.
David Haig’s carefully sculpted script presents and examines philosophical issues such as free will and thought versus intention, as per the original story, and also explores the complexities of artificial intelligence that are already seeping into contemporary society. Compressing the novella’s key ideas into a pared-down plot gives the production a tautness and intensity; plot revelations feel inevitable, but this only contributes to the claustrophobic and nightmarish sense of the piece.
Although the set can take an extremely large bow for conveying a character in its own right, it does not overshadow the play itself. The principal roles remain with the actors and dancers who bring to life the intensity of the piece, setting the stylistic tone with their performances. Jodie McNee gives an entirely commanding turn as the gender-swapped lead, neuroscientist Julia Anderton, casting off her adopted accent and red patent leather shoes when her life and self unravel as she realises she isn’t inhabiting a utopia anymore, Toto. Other strong female performances and stories are woven throughout the play, and additional roles are played impeccably by the ensemble cast. (As well as those shoes, I must also make mention of the costuming as a whole, which manages to create a convincing series of accomplished futuristic fashion looks.)
Minority Report is not a cosy and comfortable outing - it presents the potential impact of cognitive analysis and artificial intelligence in a compellingly frightening manner - but it is a diverting and striking production. From its entirely-too-visceral opening scene, to the treatment meted out by humans in the name of doing ‘good’, it is not only visually stunning but delivers a relevant and fascinating narrative. I’m a big fan of this type of theatre, which can jolt you out of your comfort zone and provide a spectacle which is simultaneously entertaining, thoughtful and thought-provoking. The production certainly challenges its audience but is ultimately life-affirming and pro-humanity. I seriously recommend watching it.
Minority Report is at Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 9 March before playing at Birmingham Rep and the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
