Golem

5
Reviewer's Rating

1927’s Golem may be one of the most brilliant theatre productions of this century. It is an accomplishment of epic proportions as they effortlessly mix arts, genres and media arriving at a thoroughly coherent and engaging original story written by Susanne Andrade, who also directs it.

At the same time it is a challenge to give an account of this production because it is such a complex artistic venture with multi-layered storytelling conducted not only through acting but also through live music, singing, dancing, animation, film projections and voiceover.

In a nutshell Golem is a cautionary yet hilarious tale about a young man, his sister, their grandmother and their friends, and their slow descent into uncurbed consumerism thanks to an invention of golems, domestic and workplace helpers controlled by a scary corporation. This strange story inspired by a novel by Gustav Mayrink hides a serious message of the production: the exploitation of labour force, materialism, dependence on technology and the consequences of progress.

Golem is a piece of avant-garde politically-engaged theatre without any demagogy. It shows brilliantly through the use of grotesque and absurd the dangers of post-industrial world controlled by corporations. There are many surprises in store for the audience and I will not reveal them. I have no doubt that the show’s cleverness, ingenuity and humour will make you want to see more of 1927’s productions next time they are in London.