Woyzeck - Strode's Theatre Company
Drams 5 (avoid at all costs)
Venue C venue (34)
Address Adam House, Chambers St
Runs 4-11 Aug at 7:30pm (8:50)
Tickets £6.50 (£5.50)
Reviewer Daniel Winterstein
Woyzeck, Georg Buchner's unfinished classic, is a very challenging play. The script is quite heavy, consisting of sparse disjointed dialogue. Lines such as "even money rots" and "one thing after another" are simply uttered without any context. Woyzeck is the common man, pulled in conflicting directions by duty, science and nature. Eventually he snaps, and in a fit of sacred rage murders his adulterous girlfriend. Done well it is a darkly poetic piece, shot through with moments of black humour. Done badly - and here it is done very badly - it is simply unwatchable.

This production is entirely lacking in gravity, without which the play does not work. Lines are either hammed or delivered lifelessly. The Doctor and The Captain - symbolic of the inhuman forces that oppress Woyzeck - are hysterical and unconvincing. The physical theatre aspect feels like it came out of a GCSE drama class, and adds nothing to the play. It was far too ambitious a choice for such an inexperienced cast.
� Daniel Winterstein, 5th August 2001