As part of one of my English modules this semester, we were required to go to see Caryl Churchill's A Number at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton. I'm already annoyed at myself for never having been to the theatre here before- it's literally a 15 minute bus ride away so I have no excuse! A Number was definitely the most interesting and well-put-together piece of theatre I've ever seen (admittedly my theatre viewing isn't overly eclectic but the sentiment is still there!) and I got so excited about it that I decided to write a little review on here in preparation for the piece I will be writing on it for my course next week.
I always love the feeling of apprehension before the beginning of a show, and this was especially present before the performance today as in exchange for our tickets we were all given a number on a sticker- clever, eh?- then told to wait in the bar area until we were called. The numbers either began with a 1, 2, 3 or 4, and these corresponded to the groups that we would be sitting in in the auditorium. Having not been inside the Nuffield before, I couldn't really appreciate the change in staging that had taken place- but I'm imagining a fairly 'normal' theatre space was in existence before the A Number staging came in. Each of the audiences were placed on a side of a sort of cube in the middle of the auditorium- this is what I imagine was the case, at least, because you couldn't actually see anyone else! Just before the lights went up and you could see the two actors, a screen came away from the window in front of the audience to reveal our reflection- that's one way to make an audience feel uncomfortable and apprehensive! It seemed like everyone was trying their utmost not to look at their own reflection but glance sheepishly around the room and everyone else's.
Once the play itself began, I found myself completely captivated by what was happening. I'd read most of the play pretty much just before going in to see it, having bought it a few hours before, and I think this really helped with my understanding of the narrative because a few others seemed a little confused. I do sort of wish I'd gone in without any prior knowledge though, I feel as though I might have ruined it for myself a little bit by already knowing that there were only two actors for the whole play, and that one of them served as more than one 'version' of the same person! (To give you a little bit of background, A Number is a play centred around the act of cloning- a father gives up a troublesome 4 year old son following the death of his mother, and instead of starting anew, chooses to pay for a clone of his previously 'perfect' son to be created. The issue, however, came when the 'mad scientist' who developed the clone didn't just stop at one- instead, a number of copies of the little boy were created and allowed to grow up.)
I had so many points in my head that I wanted to think/speak about but I think that's enough to sum up my reaction without actually revealing the entirety of the plot and experience! I would definitely advise anyone who can to go and see A Number! Or, if you can't, then give it a read- although I found it completely transformed from my quick reading of the play in my head to its performance. But one thing I can definitely take from today is that I need to get myself to the Nuffield Theatre (as well as any other places I can get myself to) more often!
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