The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2025 - Issue 37

bitetheatre THEATRE REVIEW A lthough fringe, I am fond of Almei- da Theatre, which can rival one’s sentiments to a West-End theatre, putting on runs of outstanding shows, so I was particularly excited to attend. It had been a while since I’d been there. Regarded as an allegorical story, I was intrigued by how this ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ play Rhinoceros would re- veal interpretation from my perspective. Art is, af- ter all, subjective! Rhinoceros’ staging was stark—an all-white set with a raised square at the forefront dotted with various props. The backstage area had a platform cloaked in a sheer white curtain. The production starts with seven cast members of different genders and ages lining up on the platformed stage behind the curtain so we can see their shadowy features. They wore what looked like white doctor’s lab coats with outrageously distinctive (absurd) hair, bar one who was bald. One of the cast members not dressed in white, wears a mostly brown out- fit described as ‘dishevelled’, and looks somewhat bemused regarding his fellow cast members. His (apparently) non-conformity in wearing the white lab coats looks intentional and greatly contrasts the white background setting and cast members’ white costumes. An eighth cast member, resembling a ‘nutty pro- fessor’, Paul Hunter, came out to address the au- dience exuberantly and, with a good dose of wit and jest, welcomed us, highlighting the reasons for our attendance at this theatre in a tongue-in-cheek amusement tone, and directed us to open up our imaginations. He then took us through a series of arm movements he requested us to copy and keep up with, speeding and inducing humour in what I presumed to shake off the day we were originat- ing from. It was hilarious! It was a different kind of breaking-of-the-fourth-wall theatre! The audience laughed at themselves as they tried, and mostly failed, to keep up. The direction to use our imaginations had me con- fused. We were at the theatre to watch the action Images courtesy of Mark Brenner RHINOCEROS Joshua McGuire and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù