DON’T PANIC IS A LIKEABLE AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING IF SOMEWHAT SLIGHT EXPLORATION OF A NIGHTMARISH WORLD OF THE FUTURE

By Richard Cubitt · Richard Cubitt Substack ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

Playing at Etcetera Theatre above the Oxford Arms in Camden, Don’t Panic is an elegant and compelling piece of world-building from writer Taylor Carmen and Director Kay Brattan.

Set 82 years in the future in a world ravaged by the constant threat of an imminent apocalypse, Carmen’s script, however, focuses on the small-scale world of an endearing but slightly ramshackle theatre not unlike Etcetera.

The audience is immediately drawn to this comparison by the fact that one of the cast, Gabrielle-Norma Griffin, greeted us into the theatre in character as Kid, the more upbeat of the two stagehands central to the plot.

This opening served to establish the dynamic between Kid, a somewhat cartoonish figure in the play who is self-described as annoying, and the cool and private Mani, played by playwright Carmen, who delivers a more restrained performance.

Carmen’s enigmatic performance provides the central question, drawing us into the world of Don’t Panic; why did someone seemingly so cynical and unromantic give up a career in medicine to pursue work as a stagehand. Meanwhile, Griffin provides the real texture of the world. She smoothly demonstrates an energetic comedy performance, drawing laughs from the audience just by descending a ladder, that occasionally gives way to a clearly stressed quietness. This created the impression of someone trying slightly too hard to remain cheerful, thereby revealing the true horror of the situation to the audience.

The choice to focus on small-scale creativity as our window into this clearly horrific future helps the audience to see analogies with the current state of global tension. As an audience member, it hit home the realities of life in places like Iran and Ukraine, where creative young people no doubt still exist doing creative things. This real-world comparison added to the poignance of the piece.

A particularly important scene in capturing the strange reality created by a world in destruction came when Mani helped to conjure the feeling of the outside world through smelling one of those synthetic-smelling tree-shaped car air fresheners whilst meditating. This gave way to a dance piece in which, obviously, plastic wrapping nevertheless conjured an image of beautiful tranquillity amongst the horror.

For all these strengths, Don’t Panic felt more like the exceptional first act of something greater; under running its advertised hour long runtime by more than ten minutes, this is an undeniably slight play. I felt like there was still more to explore in the dynamic between the two characters, which only really seemed to be viewed from the perspective of Kid. The play certainly at no point seemed to overstay its welcome with the audience.

Ultimately, though, Don’t Panic is a likeable and thought-provoking if somewhat slight exploration of a nightmarish world of the future. It is playing until the 25th of April, and tickets are £16.85.

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Photo Credit: Pacifica N. Zhang