It is not the kind of topicality Sam Ward would have wished for, but the current far-right riots in towns in England and Northern Ireland give his storytelling show a chilling pertinence. Staged by his own YESYESNONO company, Nation asks us to imagine an ordinary town, not too big, not too small, where everyone knows each other and nothing unexpected happens. Except when it does and a bloodied body is found in the town centre. Community cohesion cracks.
The liberal-minded people who thought they shared the same values as their neighbours discover how quickly fear can flourish into hate. Under threat, their fellow citizens victimise the outsider.
By implication, those liberal-minded people are us. “Right now, you are being an audience,” Ward repeatedly tells us, inviting us to have a good look at each other as we enjoy our shared experience. Our imaginations do the heavy lifting, with only the subtle shifts of David Doyle’s lighting and the gentle additions of Carmel Smickersgill’s sound design for embellishment.
The show seems to suggest that if we can imagine this town as it suffers supernatural changes, then, for better or worse, we could imagine something else entirely. The story in my head might not be the same as the one in yours, as a twist in the show reveals.
With his simple sentences, repeated phrases and direct audience address, Ward has much in common with performer Tim Crouch. He, too, paints vivid pictures and compels us to know what happens next. It is a mesmerising performance.
But the story itself, a Dogville-style tale of nice people turning nasty, yields less to our understanding than it promises. Ward’s measured tones suggest he harbours a great insight, but he seems only to highlight the injustice of attacking the most vulnerable – and you do not need to read the news to know that.