Nobody likes Cassandra, and like the Trojan princess who was given the gift of being able to see the future but cursed so that nobody would believe her, the woman at the centre of this piece could see into the not-too-distant future. She can see that disaster is about to strike. But she’s dismissed as a vulnerable, crazy lady who maybe had a bit too much to drink. This is the premise of “Diagnosis,” currently playing at the
Finborough Theatre, written and performed by Athena Stevens.
You enter the Finborough under surveillance. The camera is pointed at the audience, and it soon becomes clear that we are somewhere in the not-too-distant future in London. A city where surveillance already abounds so we can capture all sorts of crimes taking place (albeit not in ultra-high definition).
In the future, every police station will record interviews with an audience with “vulnerable persons” involved. This is to ensure no police misconduct occurs. A police officer (Ché Walker) is interviewing a person (Stevens) in a wheelchair at Charing Cross Police Station after she punches a man. Was it a date gone wrong, or was it just too much of a good thing at the local nitrous bar? Presumably, such bars are a solution to the discarded cans of nitrous oxide that currently pervade central London streets, allowing people to get their fix in a controlled social setting. But the woman also tries to explain that a bigger problem is about to hit the city that nobody cares to believe, as she couldn’t possibly know what she is talking about.
And so unfolds a short and sharp comic drama thriller at a central London police station late at night. Naturally, being a piece by Athena Stevens, you are challenged with some wry observations about how people, particularly those with disabilities, are perceived. Both now and in the future. She works as a drone operator, a special job ring-fenced for people with disabilities. The job does not have any purpose and is considered irrelevant by decision-makers. Nobody takes her views of the future seriously. But there’s also a touch of dark humour over the proceedings. Perhaps to remind us that the joke is on us.
A brief - the piece runs just under an hour - but provocative look at the future directed by Ché Walker. Diagnosis continues at the Finborough Theatre until 7 June.
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Photos by Alex Walton
