Icarus, produced by Square Peg Theatre and directed by Michael White (The Lowry, 3-4 July 214)
Icarus is the second production from physical theatre company Square Peg. They have a close relationship with The Lowry following their entry for the Pitch Party competition at the 2013 re:play Festival. Although they didn’t win on that occasion, the judges were so impressed with their combination of physical theatre, film tropes, and intriguing text, that they offered them support via their Developed With The Lowry programme. This, in part, led to Icarus’s development and production.
In the closing scene of the play Anna (Katie Robinson) mentions the Greek myth from which the play gets its name. In the original story, Icarus is warned not to fly too close to the sun in the wings his father has constructed for him. They are held together by wax, and the heat of the sun will melt them. But Icarus, full of hubris and complacency, ignores the instruction. The wax melts. He falls into the sea and drowns.
In the play the hubris and complacency is attributed not to just one man, but instead to an entire corporation, and, more widely, the media and even society as a whole. Mars Pioneer want to send three people to the red planet on a one way trip, accompanied every step of the way by video cameras that will beam their exploits back down to the earth. It is, as Anna states, ‘the biggest media event in the history of mankind. Reality meets talent show with no ending and the whole world watching.’ Anyone who thinks that sounds far-fetched will be interested to know that the inspiration for the play came from Mars One, a real organisation that is planning to launch a one-way mission to Mars by 2024.
Swapping between scenes on earth as the trip approaches, and scenes in which the three chosen contestants see their flight to Mars quickly turn towards disaster, Icarus looks at what it would mean to make the decision to leave earth for good. At home, Anna spends her days resisting feelings such as love and compassion as she focuses on her impending trip. Her scenes with Dylan (Dominic Myerscough) show the hard face she has to develop when chasing her dreams. Dylan is also a perfect prop to indicate the effects on those people who are left behind.
When Anna meets Jack (Michael White), a journalist who uses her for a story, we are introduced to the concerns on a more societal scale. Jack doubts the morality of the mission, questioning whether Mars Pioneer have considered the implications for their chosen space explorers. This is a one way trip. There is no return. But in ten years, when the viewing figures have dropped, will anyone still care about the human life they have sent away in a shuttle? As well as Dylan, Myerscough plays Leon, the head of Mars Pioneer. It is this character who represents the corporate side of the mission. Leon sees this as a way of making millions and little else, but he is prepared to do it nonetheless.
The scenes on the shuttle represent the worst-case scenario for the assignment. Many critics of the real-life Mars One have been heard to utter the words ‘suicide mission.’ As nobody has before experienced living on Mars in this way, there can be little doubt that any such adventure comes with risk. In Icarus, the risk becomes reality very quickly. Alexie (Myerscough), Tom (White), and Anna soon suffer a loss of signal. They have no idea if the cameras are still filming, but they know they have no method of communication. Showing as much hubris as the corporation and media that has allowed this dangerous event to take place, Anna is the last to see what this loss of signal really means. The scenes in which Alexie and Tom try to persuade her of the truth are fraught with tension and suspense.
For such a small play, there are a lot of big ideas here. Taking Mars One to task in this way is a brave and admirable decision, especially when you consider that Big Brother producers Endemol are behind the real-life plans. And, for a play that packs such a focused message, there is an impressive level of subtlety that will make it just as entertaining for those that do not know the truth behind the tale.
All three performances are impressive, particularly once you get used to the way that the actors represent zero gravity on stage. When you first see them flitting across the floorboards in a half-dance half-walk, spinning whatever props they all holding around their heads and bodies, it is a little jarring. But once the story sucks you in, it becomes something a lot more natural.
It is perhaps Dominic Myerscough, though, who shines most of all. In his role as Alexie, he has the plays funniest lines, in his role as Dylan some of the most poignant, and as Mars Pioneer’s leader, he also gets to play the most disturbing and dictatorial character. Despite the need for three different accents, he portrays each individual with aplomb.
Ultimately, though, Katie Robinson and Michael White deserve huge credit for this fascinating hour of theatre. They are not just actors in this play; they are also the founders of Square Peg. The fact that they have come up with something so challenging and thought-provoking with only their second production suggests that there are very exciting things to come.
Fran Slater