
Review: BUTCHERED, VAULT Festival
The absurdist love child of Sweeney Todd and Hannibal. Weird and funny and horrible and thought-provoking at the same time.
There are some shows that fit perfectly within the walls of The Vaults. Magic is made when old bricks and humidity meet the right production. Expial Atrocious' Butchered is one of those that feel at home enveloped by the horrid architecture and the rumblings of Waterloo Station. The absurdist love child of Sweeney Todd and Hannibal, it's a grim look at life and death in a dog-eat-dog world.
When a young Apprentice (Nic Lawton) joins the Master (Ezre Holland) in her basement kitchen, her mindless routine is disrupted. But the youth's bright personality and big dreams aren't as infectious as she thinks they are when faced with the constant pressure to please their growling employers and the deep disillusionment that comes with the job.
The duo's meticulous movement direction meets the imagination of the audience accompanied by a detailed sound design that expands the minimalism of the piece. Bleak situational humour is mitigated by the inherently comical juxtaposition of their personalities, creating a spectacular balance in this pitch-black comedy.
While the Apprentice attempts to convince her Master that she too can find artistry and creativity in her profession, the latter drags her into her misery. Echos of a traumatic industrial era reverberate throughout the Tim Burton-ian vibe as their relationship develops.
The vignettes unfold, establishing their characters as direct opposites at first, but moulding them together like they do their mince as they go on. It's a clever performance. Holland and Lawton's vision is sharp and their aesthetics are vibrant in the cohesion of their dreariness.
In a society that's starting to realise that there's much more to life than work, Butchered is a stark reminder of the dangers of an existence ruled by a role. It's weird, funny, horrible and thought-provoking at the same time. There's space for refinement, but it's a great show.
Butchered runs at VAULT Festival until 29 January.
From This Author - Cindy Marcolina
Italian export. Member of the Critics' Circle (Drama). Also a script reader and huge supporter of new work. Twitter: @Cindy_Marcolina
... (read more about this author)
March 26, 2023
Jordan Harrison’s 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist is a reflection on mortality that doesn’t dare to go into the depths of the matter. It ends up being rather stagnant philosophically and anthropologically, but Dominic Dromgoole’s latest production is a delicate take. Running at 85 minutes on paper but around 70 in reality, the piece’s greatly sophisticated performances and sleek look save it from its redundant nature.

March 25, 2023
Running at around 50 minutes, it’s snappy and positively Gen-Z in pace and subject. Fernandes crafts a script that wanders from deliciously colloquial to slightly expository, but remains solid throughout.

March 19, 2023
While the writing is gripping and Gabrielle Nellis-Pain’s performance is excellent, there’s something missing. Catherine’s colleagues are ancient ghosts through the hallowed corridors as she puts on a sleazy, raspy voice to portray them against her well-spoken main character.

March 19, 2023
You are going to die. It’s a certainty, but it’s also the title of the latest play by This is Not Culturally Significant writer Adam Scott-Rowley. Performed entirely naked, You Are Going To Die is a show about everything and nothing. You can read as much or as little as you wish in it. What does it deal with? We’d love to know - we came out of it with more questions than answers. It feels like a social experiment or an impenetrable piece of performance art. It might just be simply throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks.

March 19, 2023
Coin Toss Collective are an exceptionally creative young company. Freak Out! highlights a problem that wouldn’t cross the mind of the average British person who lives in the inland. They deliver an amusing, chaotic farewell to East Anglia. Who would’ve thought that a show about coastal erosion would be so cool!