It’s already been said, but when is it going to change? This call to action becomes even more frantic, accompanied by pounding heavy synth beats which pulsate with the warning of arson on a national scale.
Multi award winning Ugly Bucket Theatre are back with ‘the bad stuff’, and a heavy sprinkling of macabre comic relief. Its feasible that foodbanks could soon set to become one of the biggest industries in the UK as it establishes itself as a permanent fixture in communities. Notably for those people in the bottom 25%. The demand has grown at a phenomenal rate and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down with more people than ever having no choice but to access this support.
Ugly Bucket use a range of mime and clowning, playfully creating nightmarish sequences which highlight the well-trodden road to poverty; the cost-of-living crisis, zero-hour contracts and trickle-down economics is pushing more and more people through the cracks. Their ideas and originality stand out, including a clever representation of the fiend like corners of the establishment sticking on a band aid and publicly patting themselves on the back, as they successfully conquer and divide, as people fight to survive.
Recorded first-hand testimonials of foodbank volunteers are mimed verbatim, and choreography which mimics the militant operations ran by the volunteers creates an image of the foodbank frontlines. The audio soundbites are difficult to listen to, and so they should be.
Stuffed is hard hitting and uncomfortable to watch. It stuns its audience into silence and its impossible not to think about the heart wrenching foodbank scene in Ken Loach’s 2016 film, ‘I, Daniel Blake’. Eight years on and we still have depictions of desperately hungry single mums.
Why don’t they just make it stop?
Why don’t they just make soup?
Ugly Bucket are collecting food bank donations at the Pleasance Courtyard Café, before and after the show. Don’t miss this incredible production and find out what you can do to support.
Showing every day at 2.25pm until the 26th August 2024.
Reviewer: Gill Lewis
Reviewed: 14th August 2024
North West End UK Rating: