Hampstead Downstairs, London – until 28th October 2023
Reviewed by Celia Armand Smith
4****
Behavioural biologist Professor George Grey (Jemma Redgrave) lives in a university owned house with an octopus called Frances. Alongside her late husband, she wrote world renowned papers about Frances and her life in a tank in a living room. Enter Dr Harry Giscard (Ewan Miller), an anthropologist with bold new ideas about both Frances and George. They tumble and tussle with each other’s intelligence, taking in grief, love, sentience, and spirituality along the way.
Marek Horn’s pacy script is cerebral and funny. There are times when my internet addled brain can’t cope with the highly researched narrative, however those moments are fleeting and dormant parts of my brain fire up again. Under Ed Madden’s direction, the two characters take it in turns to narrate the piece, intertwining like two research papers being written on the same subject. It’s a bit like witnessing a TED talk in someone’s home whilst life goes on around them.
Running throughout there is a sparky and sweary humour and playfulness, and dancing to blasts of David Bowie tracks brings a welcome change in pace and tone. Octopolis is 100 minutes of at times incredibly complicated dialogue, but it is the charismatic performances by Miller and Redgrave that hold your attention throughout. Their relationship is believable and dynamic, and by the end quietly revelatory.
Anisha Fields’ simple yet effective design along with Jamie Platt’s vivid lighting is brilliant at creating the presence of Frances without ever seeing her. The tank runs the length of the stage, and changes in mood and emotion are revealed through a spectrum of colour changes from bright orange to red to a cooler blue. There are jets of foam and bubbling noises which serve as a signal for a new chapter and a new narrator.
Complex thoughts and ideas give way to the shifting emotions in a play that is profound and funny. It has huge themes, a small but clever space, and impressive performances. Enjoyable to the end, you come away having learnt something about octopuses and humans alike.