Review: Beyond Caring

Beyond Caring is an awkward piece of theatre, and that is the reason why it is a good and a valuable expression of the arts. Focusing on the lives of three temporary workers in a sausage factory, the audience sees, and hopefully begins to feel, the impact of transitory work.

Following runs at The Yard and the National Theatre Shed – both well received and praised – it is no surprise that the northern transfer of Beyond Caring continues these successes. Written by Alexander Zeldin and the company, Beyond Caring is a painfully relevant insight into the daily grind of zero-hour contracts. Familiar to many, Zeldin’s work does not shy away from the grim realities of unsecure employment, whether that be eviction when salaries aren’t paid on time, or simply struggling to get basic food and medication.

Zeldin’s work does not shy away from the grim realities of unsecure employment.

The Birmingham Rep manages to replicate the intimacy of a smaller venue by positioning everything – including the audience – on the stage. Despite the venue having a capacity of over eight hundred, seating is limited and far more intimate. With the actors less than ten feet away at times, this serves to increase the tension and awkwardness that the play exudes. Without the physical distance, it becomes even harder to distance oneself from the plight of the characters, and as the audience remains in full light for the production, it is both resoundingly awkward and effective.

Of course, this innovative staging would be meaningless without passionate performances, which are delivered in that very manner, despite the bouts of enforced silence and purposely clunky dialogue. A particular mention must be made of James Doherty, whose timid and often sweet performance built into an emotional climax.

It is both resoundingly awkward and effective.

The whole production feels numbing, whether it from the flickering fluorescent lights that remain throughout the entire production, the soft humming of the machinery in the background, or from simply seeing the realities in ways that often go hidden or unnoticed. Beyond Caring is not traditionally enjoyable, or even pleasant, but if one considers the role of the arts as a way of highlighting where society has failed, then Zeldin’s piece does this remarkably.

There is something uncomfortably voyeuristic about watching this play. As the characters struggle to survive, with the loss of a pound in the vending machine expressed as an agonising loss, the audience is forced to consider their lives and experiences in the context of the characters performing in front of them. The entire performance is a prolonged experiment of discomfort and that is why it is such a powerful piece of art, where the privilege of the audience to afford the luxury of a trip to the theatre is placed at odds with the characters who exist in an uncooperative and precarious position.

There is something uncomfortably voyeuristic about watching this play.

Beyond Caring forces the audience to consider whether their concern for these characters exceeds beyond the stage, and reflects onto the real people they represent, or whether we are indeed ‘beyond caring’? It demands a morbid introspection of one’s morals and position in society, and that is not comfortable. However, this is important, and that is why Beyond Caring is a valuable piece of theatre.