Disposing Bodies In The Forge At The Court Theatre

Four management consultants have been given 90 minutes to work out if they're saving the world, being tested by their superiors or designing the blueprints for the next holocaust in Ideation, a boardroom thriller playing at The Forge at The Court Theatre this June.

The Forge is The Court's Studio Theatre and will be opening its doors to audiences for the first time this year with Ideation - an icy thriller that is the Black Mirror of contemporary theatre.

The story follows Hannah, Brock, Ted and Sandeep as they struggle to find a solution to their latest assignment: a hypothetical disease outbreak that begins to look less hypothetical and more like a plan for a future genocide.

As the tension in the room reaches boiling point, the team begin to turn on each other as they struggle to identify what it is they're being asked to do - and who knows what.

For Dan Bain, Associate Director at The Court and the director of Ideation, the rampant paranoia within the story is what makes it so thrilling to watch.

After reading the script last year, Bain wasn't sure if The Court would programme the show, but pushed for it to be included in the 2018 Forge season.

"Last year when I was programming I read something like twelve scripts in two days. I would read about fifteen pages of a script to see, 'is this even close to what we're looking for?' And in that time, I read Ideation - I read all of Ideation. It wasn't at all what we were looking for, but I had to know what happened. I didn't think we would put it on, but I kept nudging it and managed to get it programmed, which is quite exciting."

Bain describes the play as 'Formula One style theatre'. "Not only is it an entertaining thought experiment and a fun observation of extreme characters, but it's also a massive feat that you're watching on behalf of the actors."

The actors taking on the challenge include former on-screen Shortland Street couple Laura Hill and Roy Snow as Hannah and Brock respectively, Adam Brookfield as Ted and, making their debuts at The Court Theatre, Shaan Kesha as Sandeep and John Armstrong as Scooter.

For audiences looking for entertainment that keeps them on the edge of their seat, they'll find it in Ideation.

"My hope is that people will leave going, 'I would have done this,' and the person they went to the theatre with will go, 'are you insane? I would do this!' Because as a play that at its core is a debate, I think its job is to spur further debate."

Unlike the answer, the question audiences will be left with after seeing Ideation is clear - what would you do with all the bodies?

Ideation opens at The Court Theatre on the 2nd June and runs through until the 23rd June.

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