The Argument Review
8th – 12th April 2025
Walking into Barons Court Theatre on Tuesday, my friend and I had no idea what to expect. Womanizer was playing on repeat and the atmosphere was chaotic and noisy. Thinking better of the front row, we found ourselves two seats in the corner and quietly wondered what we had gotten ourselves in for.
Before long, we met Alfie and George who told us we were there to have an argument and by the time the hour was up, we all would have had an argument. We would have been challenged, invigorated and most importantly, we would have all had fun. Before things kicked off, we were also reminded the more you put in, the more you’ll get out.
“While the idea was clever, it lacked the necessary authenticity to pull it off”
And we were off to a good start. Everything from lime bikes to Luigi Mangione seemed to be fair game and before long, the first topic was decided. However, from the moment the “audience” began to debate the future of theatre, our suspicions began to arise.
Were they really audience members or were they actors?
The most enjoyable two minutes of the show were when we were encouraged to turn to the person next to us and discuss AI. It was a moment of genuine discussion in an environment where you were constantly trying to work out what was real and what was not. In the strange, hybrid, fake-newsy world we live in, we’re constantly trying to decipher the truth and for that, I applaud them.
Unfortunately, the other arguments lacked style and substance. There was no real sense of argument and the copious number of actors in the audience lacked a genuineness which was off putting once we realised how many people were in fact part of the show – something which wasn’t made clear at all.
For something like that to work well, passing the baton over to the audience can be an incredibly powerful tool. Had they planted a couple of actors throughout the audience for example, who raised thoughtful points and actually got the audience talking, it would have been much more effective.
While the idea was clever, it lacked the necessary authenticity to pull it off and as the hour ticked on, the audience became more confused and more excluded. Once the dancing started – throwing in a fight for good measure – they truly lost us and as we were quickly shuffled out of the room at the end, we weren’t the only people asking: What the …
Maggie John
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