War With the Newts, Summerhall (Basement), until 26 Aug (not 20), 5pm and 8.
This show can be uproariously funny when it needs to be, just as it can be sad, mysterious, unsettling and terrifying. Highlights include Walsh’s gruff but kind-hearted Captain van Toch, Kemp-Sayfi’s self-made businesswoman Bondy, and Redway’s prim and proper British ambassador, whose faux pas in a negotiation with the newts is a moment of sublime comedy. Three actors fill out the many parts in this complex tale – Everal A Walsh, Nadi Kemp-Sayfi and Sam Redway, all of whom do excellent jobs of sketching complex characters. I read it in college shortly after an introductory course on evolution, which made the novel more enjoyable (terms like bottlenecks and founder effects became more apparent). This Czech story becomes British to its bones, touching on everything from the question of post-Brexit fishing to the plight of Welsh former mining towns gutted by globalisation. I enjoyed reading the satirical science-fiction: War with the Newts by Karel Capek and Kurt Vonnegut’s Galapagos. Tyrrell Jones' production places the majority of the action on a fishing vessel, and Summerhall’s basement is redressed with the filth and grit of a boat at work.
An early promise of an interactive experience (on entrance we’re given different hand-stamps based on our answers to some questions) peters out swiftly, and we settle in. Three disembodied personalities on television screens power up their entertainment systems to bring us the story of the rise and fall of newt-based capitalism. The setup: we’re adrift at sea in a post-cataclysm nightmare.
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