Fight Night review – ‘it pushes us to admit to being racist, sexist and violent’
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Version 0 of 1. I’m thinking of walking out of a show I’m reviewing – and I’m not alone. A sizable chunk of the audience is also shuffling restlessly, and our fellow viewers are just about ready to show us the door. The majority of the cast has already left the stage. That such a production comes from the hands of Ontroerend Goed will come as little surprise. The Belgian theatre collective like to take their audience to interesting and sometimes difficult places. Although if anything, they could have pushed us a bit harder here. Fight Night is an interactive production that examines how and why we make judgements about others, asks whether the political system really represents our choices, and offers us some solutions for reforming it. Or no solution at all depending on your viewpoint, and indeed the behaviour of your fellow audience members. Onstage are five candidates, about whom we are drip-fed information, which then influences whether we vote for them via a small keypad. We’re asked questions as to which character traits we prefer, are pushed to admit to being a little bit racist, sexist or violent, and come to accept that there might not be much difference between the candidates after all. It’s certainly fun – and there is definitely a general interest in seeing how a random group of people feel on moral questions – but I’m not convinced that taking the politics out of this show entirely makes sense. For director Alexander Devriendt, the idea is to explore the media-managed political personality, and the limits of its power. To discuss the extent by which voting decisions are based on likability and smart marketing rather than policy. There is of course, a particular deliciousness in asking those questions in Australia, where the government released very little policy information during its recent election campaign and seemed to benefit enormously from doing so. But you did have at least an idea of what the Liberal party stood for. Fight Night gives you little or no context. That, I think, underestimates most voters, and also holds back the show. The questions don’t develop as much as they might; we’re asked to vote for “change” without ever establishing what the status quo is. The journalist in me can’t help but feel that two or three decent questions on asylum, tax and social welfare would have saved us an hour of to-ing and fro-ing. The process is fascinating, and the final segment of the show really kicks up a notch in terms of challenging the audience as to what a political system should look like. I learned things about my own prejudices and those of the others I was sharing a room with. But like a politician with great soundbites but no policy, if you start to unpick the detail, the gaps in Fight Night become apparent. • Fight Night plays at the Adelaide festival until 16 March. Tickets $42-49 |