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The Review - THEATRE by JOSH LOEB
Published: 24 April 2008

A PICTURE OF ALCHEMY
Etcetera Theatre

WHO are you?
Where did you come from? What are you seeking in life? These clichéd questions, posed and purportedly answered by Will, a self-styled guru, are as opaque as this new play itself.
Indeed, it is tempting to add to them another: What point is the play trying to make?
In the programme blurb, Register Theatre Company says it wishes to “investigate the female condition” – so why does it take such an apparently dim view of women?
The five female characters are ineffectual beings, stupid enough to be hoodwinked by the hollow mysticism of their male mentor.
They are superstitious and irrational, and in the final scene they stuff their mouths with cake, fuelling the stereotype of women as incorrigible chocoholics.
But if women come out of this badly, the main target of A Picture of Alchemy is Will (Antony Law), who wafts around in a bubble of self righteousness, talking about loving yourself and finding inner peace.
Spouting hippyish platitudes, he preys on the vulnerable and makes a fortune in the process.
All this is entertaining enough, and the regular bursts of singing and dancing are delivered with gusto. The play’s conciseness (it wraps up after only one hour) is another of its strengths.
The acting is also good, with Hannah Khalil and Lisa Ralph providing particularly noteworthy performances. But it remains a thoroughly perplexing play, particularly if you are male.
Until May 10
020 7482 4857

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