Feel Me

The show tries to build empathy by telling a story of a single displaced person, but does so in an abstract way where the audience never gets to know the character - doesn't quite meet the show's aim. The story is retold multiple times through various art forms, dance, projection, video etc. It feels like a recent graduate has tried to fit all of the techniques they've learned into the show, rather than them being additive. None of the repeated versions add anything to the narrative, except for runtime. Lastly, the use of audience participation via smartphones, lauded in other reviews, is incredibly shallow, it doesn't help us connect with the character or the story. The questions asked of the audience are leading, e.g., you're asked if you feel empathy with forced displacement three times throughout the show - the audience knows the desire of the showmakers is for empathy to increase over time, to not answer in the positive is to be a contrarian. Would suggest going back to the drawing board, and asking what is the objective behind the show - if it's truly about raising awareness and empathy for forced displacement (and not purely artistic grandstanding) then creating a show where the character and their story really shines would be better.

Leeds Playhouse (formerly West Yorkshire Playhouse)