Nottingham Playhouse – until March 9th 2024
Reviewed by Amy V Gathercole
5*****
“Minority Report – it’s ambitious, new and it’s already pretty iconic! – See it soon!”
I’m fortunate to have experienced a lot of theatre in my life, but I’ve never seen anything like Minority Report. It’s ambitious, new and its already pretty iconic. Bringing the sci-fi genre to the stage in a powerful and exciting event that really reminds you what theatre can and should do. Make you think and break down boundaries.
As the plot races urgently in real-time through London in 2050, our leading lady, neuroscientist Dame Julia Anderton (a very impressive and memorable Jodie McNee), is somewhat awkwardly and shockingly found to be guilty of Pre-Crime. In the futuristic society we are living in here, this means you’ve been predicted (via a supposedly infallible system) to be guilty of going to commit a crime and will be detained ahead of committing it.
The shock of this is that Julia is the CEO of the company that built the system to eradicate crime, like I say it’s all a bit awkward. She runs the company with her husband Sir George (a fabulous performance by Nick Fletcher) – the man who created the computer programming that runs the advanced system.
Following the Pre-Crime prediction, we go on the run with Julia as she tries to escape what she built, as she and many that surround her are in disbelief that she’s been accused and start asking more questions to gain some valuable answers.
The talented David Haig has adapted the 1950s novel by Phillip K. Dick and you may be aware of the Hollywood blockbuster made famous by Tom Cruise and Nottingham’s very own Samantha Morton. This is a very different version. Minority Report is full of break-neck performances, honestly the acting is first class from everyone and features some very memorable performances.
I’d say make time to see this show because of the set as you’ve never seen anything like it! It’s futuristic, smart and fast. With sets and spaces that scroll across the stage and rise and fall with speed and precision. One minute you’re in a sped up car chase and the next inside an AI operated modern office.
The costuming is another thing to admire as it depicts futuristic society with angular designs and practical clothing, above fashion for the majority of the cast, with designs that compliment the ultra-modern society that’s been created here.
Unexpected humour appears throughout the script as the writers take some liberties with jokes about AI and things we live with today and the highlight of the whole show for me was the stunning visual effects.
Minority Report is a very important piece of theatre for the modern age. In a world where the arts are tragically facing yet more cuts, the fact that Nottingham Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre have joined together to collaborate is fantastic. It’s becoming common in theatre to see smaller casts, with actors taking on multiple roles and stripped back sets, relying predominantly on projections to act as scene transitions and backdrops.
Here it’s entirely the opposite, in the most tech-based show I’ve ever seen! It would be easy for this show to lose its humanity and focus purely on the tech but instead it incorporates implanted chips and advanced sassy AI systems and chatbots, (Tanvi Virmani as an opinionated yet helpful AI companion David was my favourite performance in the show) into one of the most cinematic theatre performances I’ve seen. Whilst also raising several questions over philosophical issues surrounding free will. What will it take to create a crime free world? Are the potential risks worth it? And ultimately, how much trust should we place in technology?