This play was theatre with a difference, a game of sorts, carried out by the eight member ensemble cast. As the audience entered the theatre the cast members slowly drifted onto the stage. As the play began, they stood and introduced themselves and explained what it was we were about to see. The programme was on the audiences seats and had a list of 30 names on it, a menu of sorts. At the back of the stage there was a clothes line with pieces of paper pegged to it, with the numbers 1 through 30 with a short play relating to each. The actors set an alarm for 60 minutes and set about trying to get through as many of the short plays as possible. The audience were encouraged to shout out a number as soon as one play finished, to keep the game going!

It was a mixed bag of plays, some of them were funny and some serious, some about dance and motion and others all about the text. We got to see a story of a young gay man longing to be accepted by his friends, a version of the pottery scene from ‘Ghost’, updated to a DJ’s sound system. There was a white confirmation dress stained with blood from a girl’s first period and a nightmarish dance piece that ends with the main protagonist being eaten! A computer fighting game, with the audience encouraged to pick the characters that were about to battle.

We got through 19 short plays on the night, or 18 and a half if you’re being technical, as one of them finished mid sentence. The play was described as Neo-Futurist, which is a little bit intimidating, but it was basically fun. There was good camaraderie between the actors and you could tell that they are friends off stage as well as on, and there was a flow of excitement and entertainment throughout.

Theatre? I hardly KNOW her ran at Smock Alley for one night only.

You can find out more information about Filibusters Theatre company here.