“Wasted” Poster
Workhouse Productions bring Kae Tempest’s 2013 work Wasted back to London with a talented team at the helm. Wasted deals with three friends, Ted, Danny and Charlotte, over the course of a day and night as they reflect on where they are in life and compare it where they thought they would be, periodically interrupted by a poetic chorus who ruminate on life, hope and dreams.
The set of and use of projection for Workhouse Production’s staging is one of this production’s biggest strengths. There is not a modicum of space wasted. The couch DSL effectively conveys the casualness of the life of Danny while DSR, Ted’s filing cabinet, which doubles as a desk and coffee table, contrasts effectively by giving his far more formal yet dull job a constant presence on stage. Both of these outcomes in life, the slacker and the office worker, sit alongside each other, both jealous, both unhappy, and both wasted lives. Across the back wall sits a flat which doubles as a nightclub wall as it does a derelict building; a space on the decline, being wasted. The colours on stage are muted, intentionally so as they are made to serve as canvas for a blindingly saturated projection of the city and the lives and memories of Danny, Ted and Charlotte throughout the piece. When these elements all come together, they truly sing. Praise goes towards the set designer, Anna Cecilia and the set assistants, Lara Wilson and Lara Daly. Of course, praise goes to projection designers Leila Ufer, Emily Rodrigues and Freddie Farell.
The cast is strong too. In lesser hands Wasted’s subject matter of what could have been could come across as either whiny or overly self serious, but each actor holds their own, never over acting and delving into overly sentimental territory. Particular praise goes towards Freddie Farrell as Ted, who is the standout performer within the production.
“Wasted”
Issues arise in Wasted from how static Workhouse’s production feels. The acting is strong with excellent use of small details, often overlooked, such as tone and facial acting, but the performers themselves can feel rigid on stage, hardly allowed to take more than a few steps. The production contrasts the naturalistic and the non-naturalistic in the use of its chorus, but little is done physically to distinguish these two sides, the performers again move slowly and only take a few steps. Further dynamism in these moments, especially would have gone a long way.
The production does build very satisfyingly to a period of reflection where this stillness throughout does feel apt. But this moment would have been further emphasised if there had been even pockets of franticness previously.
Workhouse Productions’ staging of Wasted is proof of a good team, one that manages to be more than the sum of its parts. With the right text, and the right energy, they could make something magnificent.
“Wasted”
3.5/5 Stars
“Wasted”
By Etham H.M.M
