This show blends film (animation and live action) with music, lights, sound and narration, but no dialogue. It’s a gothic love story with the aesthetics of Fritz Lang’s silent movie Metropolis, set in a dystopian future where emotions have been banished. It reminded me of the work of theatre company 1927 (The Animals & Children Took to the Streets) but less ‘live’. I was in awe of the technical accomplishment but didn’t really engage with the story.
Our protagonist is Woolf, who we eventually discover is ‘special’. His love for Madeleine is doomed by state rules. We begin and end at the conclusion of his story, with the first part moving the love story forward before the second half flashes back to his birth and early life. The two other significant characters turn out to be on screen only and the handful of live extras have little to do, so it sometimes feels like a one-man show.
The rather schmaltzy story didn’t engage the audience, who are left to wonder at the superbly synchronised components and effects. The music is bland pop, and performance takes second place to technology. The attempts at connecting with the audience at the beginning and in the interval fall rather flat. That said, it is an astonishing technical achievement and I left the theatre really glad I’d experienced it.
Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog 
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