A 1927, Salzburg Festival, Theatre de la Ville Paris & Young Vic co-production
Directed and written by Suzanne Andrade
Animation & Design by Paul Barritt
Music by Lillian Henley
Liverpool Playhouse
18th – 21st October 2017

Reviewed by Colin Serjent
Photograph by Bernhard Mueller

Golem is set in a drab and dull Britain, much like the weather outside when I am writing this review!

Libraries are everywhere and the characters in the production scavenge on grimy streets. Sounds like Britain with Universial Credit firmly established.

A refrain is repeated “Why be a nobody when you can be everybody?” A good question, but if money is desperately in short supply for you, it is a hopeless dream.

The main protagonist is Robert Robertson, who is employed in a Kafka-like job coding at Binary Backup, and shares a rundown house with his gran and sister, Annie. They all have idiosyncratic personalities. In essence they are the nobodies Golem is imploring to become everybodies.

The play, in some ways, reminded me of oddball Monty Python, notably the work of Terry Gilliam in the series. It still resonates today even though it was created over forty years ago.

The production encompasses elements of film projection, clay animation – new to me – and music.

Without being too overly critical it is sometimes a mite repetitive and the messages sometimes hit you on the head. We all know, or should do, how ultra materialistic our society has become…..