The evening begins as the group leaders sit down to discuss the long hike they have just undertaken to reach a location near the late home of Lyndon B Johnson in Texas Hill, America.

Heart of the Country offers a different Fringe Theatre experience. The audience is part of the group around the campfire and immersed with the cast, although I believe it’s not normally an interactive play adding to the stories but you’re encouraged to join in with the campfire songs.

As the evening draws on, there’s a selection of stories about encounters with Lyndon B Johnson. However, there was an American lady in the audience who told a “genuinely” first hand story about him, which took the cast by surprise. Unfortunately, they can not guarantee this happening in every show.

The cast need to work on getting their timings slicker and practice engaging with each other in conversation which would allow it to come across as organic rather than interrupting or talking over each other, which meant I couldn’t hear some of the stories in full. The male cast members were guilty of this more often.

The beauty of the Fringe is that you can experiment with new ideas, and when you know you know you have intimate venues, you can plan accordingly.

There was a lit camp fire in the middle of the chairs placed in a circle and marshmallows that the audience could eat. Some added sound effects when they are bird spotting would have added some authentication to the activity.

For more information about Heart of the Country at Prague Fringe please use the link below.

Three Stars.

https://www.praguefringe.com/programme/heart-of-the-country/

https://www.praguefringe.com/

Less a biography of Johnson than a counter-mythology that plays on the gaps and imaginative leaps that make up the cultural consciousness of a political figure and their times, Heart of the Country explores how speculation can contribute to a process of reimagining value. Around the campfire, the currency of stories and songs opens onto a vision of democratic participation where value is negotiated and debt is fugitive.