Review: ALL IN GOOD TIME, VAULT Festival

"You know that we are celebrating because there is a countdown. We don't know what it's for . . . but . . . we . . . are . . . excited"

All In Good Time is, to quote the show's site, "a show about ADHD and time travel, complete with dodos, disco balls and ducks and whatever else we have time for" created by the Not-God Complex. The show itself aims to tell a story of time from a neurodivergent perspective, particularly focusing on ADHD through the trope of time travel.

When waiting in the queue for the show, VAULT Festival staff displayed QR codes that led to the show's digital programme, a "What to Expect" presentation, and even a pre-show playlist with time-themed songs like "Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, "About Damn Time" by Lizzo, and "Time" by David Bowie. When walking into the Studio, I was surprised to see a small rubber duck on each of the seats. The show begins with two of the actors (Zoë Glen and Billie Grace), named Time Lords in the programme, dressed in sparkling grey suits, standing at microphones and staring at the audience. Another person, called the Time Traveller (Rebeka Dió) dances wildly in the center in a white shirt and denim overalls.

The show jumps to several points in history including 10000 BC, 1300 BC, 1363 AD, 1776 AD, 1973 AD, and what is assumed to be present time, shown through videos depicting a day in the chaotic life of the Time Traveller. The actual time travel transitions are quite fun, with the Time Lords waving small disco balls above the Time Traveller's head with clock-like arm movements before walking off of the stage to retrieve props for the next time period. In between moments of time travel, there are moments of the time Traveller's day shown with titles like "Getting Ready," "Cleaning Up After the Party," and "The Journey Home." The scene in 1363 AD stood out to me as it was the most coherent with a medieval-themed song about Henry de Vick, a 14th-century inventor who established what would become basic mechanical clock design for the next several centuries. Others were less understandable with game shows and strange audience interactions that failed to connect to the concept of time or even of neurodivergent condition as a whole.

Credit should be given to the production team's dedication to making the show accessible to all. The performances are relaxed and captioned (even though the captioning does not always match with the lines) and there is a pre-show guide for what to expect at the show and the VAULT Festival as a whole. The team includes Gisela Mulindwa as Visual Projection Lead and Creative Captionist; Alina Longmore as Stage Manager and Access Lead; and Yuval Brigg as Technology Lead, Lighting and Sound Design and Operator.

Throughout the show, I could not help but think that it would be something that David Byrne would love. The dancing is similar to his classic style from the days of Talking Heads, the show's dialogue matches his speaking pace and thoughts, and the show in general brings up concepts that Byrne himself has discussed like time and communication.

There is one moment during All In Good Time titled "The Lost Hour," in which the screen declares that there is a break until a specific time and that audience members are free to come and go as they please (another moment of access in a relaxed performance). The actors drop characters and Rebeka interviews Zoë and Billie, with one being way more into their creative process than the other. It reminded me of Byrne's self-interviews from a promotion for Stop Making Sense in the 1980s.

The ending of All In Good Time leaves one with more questions than answers, even though it does do an excellent job of illustrating how a neurodivergent person may view time, with the Time Traveller reflecting on their journey while playing with a disco ball, commenting on how their life is full of both chaos and joy shaped by time.

Ultimately, All In Good Time has an interesting concept and does a decent job of illustrating what time is like to some people who are neurodivergent, but the majority of the play fails to draw the audience in while connecting the different themes to one another. Even though I spent quite a bit of time thinking about it, I still do not understand what the rubber ducks were for other than one scene, and even then the use of the ducks in particular failed to connect to the show's concept. The creators seem to struggle between explaining themselves and leaving everything shrouded in mystery, ending up with a show that leaves you on the edge of an answer without any form of satisfaction. To quote All in Good Time itself, "I was expecting to understand."

All In Good Time is running at the VAULT Festival from 24 January to 27 January at the Studio. Performances are at 7:50 PM. All of the performances are relaxed and audience members are free to come and go as they please.

Photo Credit: VAULT Festival

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