Uniformation Day
The stage is covered in plastic, a reminder of the abundance of cheap crap that fills our lives. The performers dance, twitch and get the audience in on the action. Lecoq technique - a form of clowning that is often deadly serious - takes its place along a dedication to Big Ideas. It must be Fool's Proof Theatre, an unholy trinity of Grotowski influenced, Live Art tinted, science fiction enthused physical theatricals.
It's Uniformation Day is the final play by Fool's Proof Theatre in a trilogy about identity. The company themselves admit that they are surprised by the scope of the project, yet are rightly unapologetic about their ambition.
"When we started out the idea was to make one show and then see what happened," say the trio. "This turned out to be our first show The Eagle Has Landed, which was about memory. Then, when we managed to make the first one without killing each other, we realized that the theme of identity was really interesting us."
Perhaps rarely for the Fringe, the continued project was informed by serious intellectual questions. "This first show spawned thoughts about a second show which would deal with the themes of inheritance and how we are ourselves yet carry all these other people round inside of us. Gradually the theme of how our identity is shaped by society started to come out and we found ourselves on a rocket ship in the future!"
Fool's Proof were fascinated by the idea of creating a trilogy for reasons serious and profane. It was "Partly because there are three of us, partly because three is a bit of a magic number," they claim. "And partly because of Star Wars." This mix of humour and more esoteric interests infuses Uniformation.
"I think we like this mixture of the ridiculous and absurd along with truthful human feeling. We love to create weird, crazy and fun shows, however we also want the audience to care about the people and what happens to them." Certainly, they share a vision with Glasgow's Mischief La Bas: "Sometimes humour can be a way to tell the truth in a fun and even more daring way." Yet the themes are intensely serious, even universal: "the need for power, the pursuit of happiness, and the fantasy of romantic love. However the manner in which we talk about these themes flips from the dark and sometimes brutal to very silly and entertaining. This range of tones gives us scope to speak about life with all of its subtleties and extremities."
Almost inevitably for such an ambitious, bracing project, Uniformation has divided critics. When asked about a quick slogan to describe the show, they prove how diverse their influences have been. "It's a great, mad, punchy and cerebral show! Like Kubrick's 2001 meets Beckett's Endgame, with a pinch of MTV's Jackass." When pushed, they find an image that reflects something of their surreal approach to performance. "It's sad and funny at the same time, like watching sea monkeys through a magnifying glass and recognizing yourself?"