Once in a while you see a play that totally blows you away. A play whose brilliance leaves you simply speechless. These works are few and far between and the moment of discovery is pure joy. Imaginary Body’s 100 is such a production.
Set in a “room” between here and the next place, 100 throws together four strangers and sets them the task of picking a single memory to last eternity. It’s obviously not an easy task and the characters slowly reveal both comic and tragic elements of their lives as they search for their defining moment. Each search is wrapped in humour, but each character’s story is tinged with a truly touching sadness.
While the story itself is thoroughly engaging and entertaining, the real highlight of the production is their sets. Ranging from a simple play park to a lush, vivid tropical jungle, every single scene has an amazingly detailed backdrop that’s created from four or five bamboo poles and a range of vocal talents. It takes a little bit of imagination, but the players all but paint the picture for you so immersing yourself in their world is easy.
There are so many layers of interpretation and allegorical meaning in 100 but to explore them would make a mockery of the most prominent theme - life is about living and emoting rather than investigating and accumulating.
It’s a rare enough occurrence to find a five star fringe play, but to find one with five star actors is unimaginable. 100 takes you deep into another world and leaves you reeling in its sheer brilliance.
5/5
Richard Biggs
