Culture Club - Ash - Please right back

⭐⭐⭐

Please right back was super creepy and gave me a freaky feeling. The way it related to the real life of working class citizens hit deep but with the contrast of the imaginary stories cheapened it and made it seem like less of a real issue. Act 1 was strange and didn’t seem to fit, it felt very disjointed from the play and itself.

On the other hand, act 2 was very well put together and made everything from the play as a whole make sense. Additionally act 2 could work as itself without the context of act 1 but act 1 did not make enough sense to stand alone which made it not as good for me. The NIPP students at random parts of the play really joined things together while adding to the creepy and unnatural vibes. The play seemed very inspired by Brecht and it helped the meaning and social issues of the world hit harder and feel more personal while also using the v-effekt to remind the audience it’s a play they are watching.

One thing I liked about ‘Please Right Back’ is the use of colour. By making the imaginary scenes be colourful and the real life scenes black and white created such a clear difference between them. One thing I didn’t like about the play was the son being a projection while everyone else is played on stage by actors. While it was an excellent use of projection, it made me feel like the son was imaginary and not real.

Overall it was a great play with an amazing plot and portrayal of social/political issues. The use of multi-role, lighting, props, projection and set design all come together really well and advanced the storyline.

By Ash