Clay Party and Conflicted Theatre’s new play Fiji challenges the boundaries of a traditional rom-com while looking at how we live in the modern world. Could cannibalism become a reality if meat became less available through climate change and we saw a reduction in eating animals?
When Sam (Pedro Leandro) first meets Nick (Edward Stone) in his flat you would perhaps expect it to be a weekend liaison arranged through one of the well known “hook up” dating apps. You soon discover that it is the darker side of the web where these two young men have found each other.
Nick checks that Sam has done all the necessary things to ensure he will not be traced back to what is perhaps the last place he will probably have ever visited. For example, deleting his online existence and flushing his sim card down the toilet.
The script is dark, sinister and has a lot of cleverly scripted macabre humour running throughout. It’s hard to understand why anyone would want to be eaten alive or be the murderer who proceeds to eat them.
For a sixty minute play, it hasn’t cut any corners and delivers an interesting look into the mind of how cannibals possibly think. Nick knows what he is about to do is illegal and as a school teacher he knows he could lose his career if caught, but his desire to consume human flesh and fulfil his desire is immense.
Although fundamentally what is about to take place is illegal the writers have bought into question “consent” after all if Sam is consensual to being eaten can Nick really been seen to have committed a crime? That’s down to the individual watching to decide.
The play had been inspired by real events that took place between Armin Meiwes and Bernd Brandes in Rotenburg, Germany in 2001 and parts of the play read out some of the events that took place during that meeting.
Although the themes running through this play are uncomfortable and rather dark I did leave the production knowing more about cannibals than I previously had. It’s certainly an interesting insight, the attention to detail was brilliant and it certainly is a very well constructed play.
Four Stars.
Photo credit Jonathan Oldfield.
Cast
Edward Stone, Writer-Nick
Pedro Leandro, Writer-Sam
Evan Lordan-Writer, Director
Now showing from the 19th to 24th November 2019. Please use the link below for further details.
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