'Against' at the Almeida

I saw Ben Whishaw's performance in 'Bakkhai' at the Almeida theatre a little while go, and really enjoyed it, so when I saw that he was appearing there again, I decided to book.

This time, rather than a take on an ancient Greek myth, the play was a new one, 'Against' by Christopher Shinn, which explores the issue of violence in society, how we respond to it, anf whether it can be changed.

Ben Whishaw and Emma D'Arcy CREDIT: JOHAN PERSSON

Whishaw plays Luke, a  Silicone Valley billionaire who has a revelation, believing he has heard the voice of god, and is called to "go where the violence is", leading him to visit the family of a school shooter, and a college campus where there has been a high profile rape (or rapes).

Its an intriguing idea, posing questions about violence in society is seen, and how we talk about it, and also about how the original, fairly simple idea which Luke has, of listening to people and giving them a space for their stories, becomes more complex.

There are some interesting (and uncomfortable) scenes with Kevin Harvey, as a college lecturer (and former sex worker), whose determination to stand up for the marginalised (sex workers, those in unconventional relationships) results in his being intolerant and bullying towards anyone who doesn't share his views, brow-beating his student, Anna (Emma D'Arcy) about the (thinly veiled autobiographical) short story she has written, to try to persuade her to change it to reflect his views, and  pushing Luke to disclose whether, and to what, he masturbates..

Harvey also appears as Jon, a friend of Luke's, and the founder and CEO of Eclipse, an Amazon-esque company where Luke plans to make his next announcement. (and there is a sub-plot, (which doesn't quite work), with Elliot Barnes-Worrell and Adele Leonce as a pair of low-wage workers at Eclipse.

It is a play which provokes thoughts and questions, but doesn't really offer any answers, and I did feel that the final scene, which introduces a totally new character, might have worked better had we met that person earlier in the play.

It was a very interesting play, with a strong cast. 

The performance I saw was the penultimate one, so it's now closed.