Theatre in Lockdown, can it still hold your attention? There's an Invisible Hand to help.

We're facing the third lockdown, and I don't know about you but after books and reading, I've probably watched as much TV, Netflix and Prime as I can take.
Then scrolling through Twitter last month- a habit I have incurred during the pandemic - I saw The Kiln theatre offering tickets to see "The Invisible Hand" a live-streamed, rehearsed reading.

Written by a Pulitzer Prize winner Ayhad Aktar, it consists simply of four male characters. A kidnapped American broker set in Pakistan, and three of his captors. As you'd expect there are power dynamics, yet there are nuances within it which reveal so much more.
The banking / financing system, the disaffection of UK born Pakistanis. A particular line struck me hard - the young very angry captor shouts at his prey, offloading experiences of why he was made to feel different and unable to be accepted into Hounslow- the part of London where he grew up - right by the airport, and that they- white English "made him ashamed to be out shopping with his mum". The implication of shame for his mother to show their culture in a Western society and inherent disapproval of the brown persona, which has driven him to this life now.

The actors on the stage were socially distanced, and pretty much set in their seats with a narrator to describe beatings or escape attempts, or the dragging of a character to gunfire. 

The writing is excellent, and tempo fast and vibrant.

All four leads were brilliant, absolutely engaging, talented, drawing you into each line.

To my surprise it worked incredibly well, I was glued to the screen, learning about the structure of the finance system as the Banker tried to make money on stock markets from his own funds to pay his own ransom. He explained loopholes, flaws and the intricacies that prevent the planned exploitation of markets continuing too long, only for a few vital seconds sometimes.

The kidnapper listens and learns, what he pays attention to ultimately leads to great wealth and widespread anarchy, proving that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.

The actors held each scene, the intensity was palpable. Simply through the screen the words they spoke, the vehemence they showed, the cowering, and the unravelling of the story was quite possibly the most engaging thing I'd seen since the first lockdown.

Given the arts are really struggling right now this is a wonderful way to support them and keep them and creativity going. Plays are narratives that are important to our own outlook and the human condition, the pandemic has definitely dominated our lives in the west, but the disparities of the world's wealth, the complexities of global conflicts and indeed terrorism have not just evaporated because we are staying home. The world still turns and a multitude of experiences are being lived out, different perspectives, that sometimes drive atrocities, and sometimes drive compassion, and we need to know, to be informed about those stories too.

This live-stream reading created jobs too, which we are all too aware is almost a luxury nowadays, especially in the arts. 16 people were involved in this production; the 4 actors. 4 in the creative team, including the writer and director and 8 in the production team. Who I must say did an excellent job with the lighting and camera set up. I thought I might be bored with one view and close up's, I wasn't.

There was even a two-minute interval where I could go get a cup of tea. If I had planned it better, there'd be a bumper bag of Haribos, and some popcorn to dip into as they performed. I'm going to make watching some live arts a regular thing till we're back to getting to the theatres safely, I suggest you give it a go too.

*The Kiln did not charge people to watch this production, donations however, were welcome.