Review: GIGI AND DAR, Arcola Theatre
Photo credit: Ali Wright
Arcola Theatre boldly presents Gigi and Dar, a dark comedy and startling new work that proves nothing is truly uneventful when young lives hang in the balance of duty and desire.
In this world premiere, playwright Josh Azouz and director Kathryn Hunter have crafted a piece that sits on the edge of absurdity while delving deep into the harrowing realities of conflict in a war-torn terrain. Set at a desolate military checkpoint, we meet Gigi (Tanvi Virmani) and Dar (Lola Shalam), two young women barely beyond adolescence, armed with machine guns. With just six days left of their mandatory service, their mundane post is disrupted by the arrival of a pregnant mother, Zoz (Chipo Chung), and her teenage son, Sim (Roman Asde).
The play unfolds in a nameless place, upholding unnamed values, yet the characters' responsibilities are never questioned. This ambiguity serves to underscore the universality of the themes of power, youth, and the futility of war.
Kathryn Hunter, an Olivier Award-winning actor in her own right and flourishing director who has collaborated with the likes of Told by an Idiot and Complicite, brings a physical eloquence to the production that speaks volumes. Her unique, once-in-a-generation presence is felt in every carefully choreographed moment of chaos, stillness and silliness. This new relationship with writer Azouz is exciting.
The young cast delivers performances that are both delightful and devastating. Virmani and Shalam as Gigi and Dar perfectly capture the jarring juxtaposition of youth thrust into positions of terrorising power, still dreaming of One Direction while wielding weapons of war. They are genuinely funny, likeable and relatable, setting the scene for tragedy that is inevitably to arrive. Roman Asde makes an impressive professional debut as Sim, bringing an earnest vulnerability that is truly heartbreaking as the true cost of war. Chipo Chung's Zoz is more intimidating than any soldier, as a grieving mother with a performance that is both sobering and raw in its exploration of maternal anguish amidst conflict. A standout moment comes in the form of a gut-wrenching, passionate song performed by Zoz, which will make your hairs stand on end.
Michael Vale's simple yet effective design works with the intimacy of the Arcola space, creating a setting that feels universal, although it could work with more context to ground the narrative potentially. The fourth wall is frequently broken, inviting the audience to become the silent confidant to characters struggling to make sense of their surreal circumstances, which the design supports well.
Adi Gortler's movement direction deserves special mention, finding moments of stylisation and characterisation that feel both heightened and believable.
There are clear parallels to Beckett's Waiting for Godot, which could be interpreted with the protagonists waiting for freedom rather than Godot, and the arrival of Sim and Zoz echoing Lucky and Pozzo. Time becomes a game, and the absurdity of war is laid bare in a way that feels disturbingly familiar.
A question to come out of the work is: if you name a place and time, does it make the message stronger and more confronting? Or is the presentation of an issue with ambiguity more unsettling in its universality? Gigi and Dar opts for the latter, and in doing so, speaks directly to conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, and beyond, forcing us to confront the numbness and normalisation of war in general.
Gigi and Dar is a relevant, urgent piece of theatre. It's equally a story about war and the loss of innocence as its price - a reality we live through daily watching the news. It may not provide easy answers, it certainly asks the right questions, leaving the audience with much to ponder. This is a must-see for those who believe in theatre's power to challenge, provoke, and illuminate the complexities of our world.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Stephanie Osztreicher
Gigi and Dar plays at London’s Arcola Theatre until 2 November, with further info here.
