Read The F***ing Manual @ Greenside
DNA Studio's two-hander Read The F***ing Manual hints at deeper themes but ultimately disappoints
As the audience enters the space, a Western couple – David (Philip Honeywell) and Olivia (Helena Harrison) – greet them and then recruit their help to move an IKEA PAX box from one side of the stage to the other. The couple are dressed in pristine work uniforms for the seemingly mundane task of assembling a wardrobe at home. Each has a new, identical red toolbox, precisely containing the right kind of hammer for the job – suggesting this is a couple with access to whatever they need.
The set-up promises gloriously comedic Laurel and Hardy moments, but we could not be more misled. Signifiers seem to hint at deeper symbolism, echoing the Theatre of the Absurd – perhaps a critique of consumerism or the environmental cost of fast furniture – but that’s not the case. We know we’re somewhere in the world (certainly somewhere with an IKEA), but it isn’t clear where. A voice hints at something war-related, possibly referencing a conflict involving hostages, but these allusions remain vague and unfocused.
Eventually, Olivia offers a morsel of concrete information. Her dad is one of the hostages; he is 70 and needs medication. She cries. David cries. Both cry and continue with the task at hand. David insists that the wardrobe requires only 4 nails, while Olivia argues for using all 27 as the manual instructs. The audience is asked to give their opinions on the number of nails. At this point, I find myself feeling queasy... are they seriously using this as an allegory for the genocide in Gaza? And if they are, what in the world is the message here?
Producers DNA Studio miss the opportunity to tap into the allegorical power of the absurd or engage with the complexities of international conflict. Instead, RTFM sits in a conformist, boring limbo; neither fully absurdist nor realist, it commits the most terrible sin of all – failing to entertain. More disturbingly, by asking how many nails the fragile back of the wardrobe requires, are they alluding to the genocide in Gaza? This seems like the ultimate banalization of something with horrific consequences.
RTFM (Read The F***ing Manual), Greenside @ Riddles Court (Willow Studio), run ended