Live From the Warehouse is a multimedia play set, as the title suggests, in a warehouse.
Tanmay (Aryaman Krishna Aggarwal) and Riyan (Vrishab Wig) are hiding out after a school prank involving a gun goes wrong.
With the police in pursuit, they contemplate their options and find ways to pass the time, flirting recklessly with the idea of becoming social media famous and having all eyes on them.
Aryaman Krishna Aggarwal and Vrishab Wig burst onto the stage with synchronised, simulated running, which sets the scene for the energy and tone of this play.
They are versatile performers. Mock stand-up is used to contemplate their backgrounds and ambitions; there is also a dance sequence and an action-movie-style pretend fight with a drug dealer.
Youthful exuberance and naivety distort their take on their situation. Views and likes on social media have agency among their peers, and their predicament becomes a means of creating online visibility, which sets them on an ever more precarious path.
This is a boisterous play, and Tanmay and Riyan are very physical friends, shoving, grabbing and slapping each other as a matter of course.
It’s also a play with performance volume turned up. Dialogue is delivered with raised voices or shouting.
This can be problematic as rapid dialogue becomes distorted when delivered with such intensity. If there is any subtlety, it gets drowned out.
The play is innovative in its use of multimedia, using screens to replicate what is being typed on their phone, but the text is small and difficult to read, so references and plot points get lost.
Final thoughts
There is skill and imagination on display in Live From The Warehouse, but scenes often outstay their welcome, and plot and themes get lost in the execution. I’m giving it two and a half stars.
Live From the Warehouse, White Bear Theatre
Written and directed by Shashwat Srivastava
Cast: Aryaman Krishna Aggarwal and Vrishab Wig
Running time: 90 minutes with no interval
Booking until 18 July, for more information and to buy tickets, visit the White Bear Theatre website
Recently reviewed
Video review: Glengarry Glen Ross, Old Vic Theatre booking until 18 July
Lulla, Omnibus Theatre booking until 10 July
Relics, Lyric Hammersmith booking until 18 July
Care, Young Vic, booking until 11 July
Leave a Reply