The Trial is a one to one, interactive theatre piece that takes the audience around East London. The story is based on Kafka’s The Trial and the theme is around the idea of guilt and innocence which make you think about what you say and how far you would go and be complicit with it. The adaptation of the story in part 1 is a bit patchy and some scenes are stronger than others. It partly depends on the actors in the scene and two performances of note are Victoria Broom and Peter Saracen but maybe because their scenes depend less on the input from the audience. The links between the scene are not exactly seamless but there are one or two ingenious ways to fill up the gaps. There is a constant feeling of menace and frequently looking over the shoulder even in public spaces which is down the the atmosphere they create and has to be applauded. At the end of part 1, there is a sense of anticipation as it finishes with a lovely parable which may or may not have any implication on the part 2.
Part 2 takes place in Rose Lipman Building in Hackney and it is an altogether a more intense experience. The audience is told he has been fast tracked and goes through a series of rooms to find out what is going to happen. The performers encountered has radically different persona, calm, hysterical, stern and each adds to the sense of dread it creates. It is surprisingly effective as atmosphere goes but there is not enough drama to it to make it exciting. The final scene also lack the power and punch it intended but overall, a good effort in creating a logistically well organised and thought out show.
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