Boosters @ Zoo

Review by Leonie Walters | 03 Sep 2014

At the end of Boosters, solo performer Hannah Smith explains to her Fringe audience what Echoes Theatre’s play is. It’s a collection of true stories from the criminal justice system, ranging from accounts of victims, perpetrators, police officers and ambulance personnel, some of whom are personally dear to Smith.

Having a performer clarify what it is you just saw is odd, but in this case, necessary. While the stories making up Boosters are important in their own right, and manage to humanise a layer of society many of us don’t tend to give much thought to, the piece itself feels messy and unfinished. It offers loose fragments and thoughts, that all reiterate the same point: criminals are humans too, and reducing them to less than that can only have detrimental effects. What it doesn’t do is develop these ideas further, suggest a new point of view to the audience or tell a story.

It’s almost as though Smith has written an informative brochure about life behind bars, its realities and its effects rather than a play. Sometimes Boosters lets recordings of victims and perpetrators do the talking, and that’s when the piece is at its strongest. Smith’s dramatic interpretations are less convincing and mediate a message which may be best told first-hand.

Echoes Theatre: Boosters, Zoo, Until 25 Aug, 6.30pm