The Conditioning, C aquila, Review

Submitted by Jon Cross on Tue, 14 Aug '18 9.45am
Image
Rating (out of 5)
2
Show info
Company
WeAreTheatre
Production
Cal Jones (writer)
Performers
Cal Jones, Jack Lloyd
Running time
60mins

I couldn’t see in the dark. I panicked. It all happened so fast … I am a killer. I am conditioned to kill.

Jimmy is trapped emotionally and physically. He finds himself confined to a small room in some facility, unable to remember how he got there. At least he has a room-mate. Spyro doesn’t seem to know why he is there either. They exercise together in response to a set of bleeps. They talk. They mess about. They spark off each other.They imagine other times and other places. But we soon realise that Spyro is not just another squaddie; he has been given the task of getting Jimmy to talk about his traumatic experience. When Jimmy finds a secret instruction left for Spyro, all trust is gone and Jimmy retreats back into himself. When Spyro brandishes the key that will set them free, Jimmy just keeps running back and forward. Spyro gives up, leaves him to it and goes. Jimmy perhaps follows out onto a busy street.

And that’s it. The End. Thirty-five minutes of drama listed as sixty. Whatever happened to the second act?

This is rather a shame; the premise is interesting, the writing is very good and the actors are convincing, but this drama just suddenly comes to a full stop, which is very unsatisfying; any audience is going to feel disappointed and rather short-changed.

August 2-27 20:40