Review: GREYSCALE, VAULT Festival

Anonymous Is A Woman strikes again with a disquieting site-specific show about consent and its withdrawal. Inspired by the Aziz Ansari scandal when a woman referred to as "Grace" accused the comedian of pressuring her into sex while he stood by the opinion that it was merely a bad date, Greyscale is an exploration of blurred lines and personal stance.

Writers Madeline Gould and Joel Samuels extrapolate the experience and make it universal, distancing it from the entertainment business and showing different recounts of the same evening. With only ten participants per performance and an ever-changing cast, Stella Taylor and Leila Sykes's play brings into question the audience's beliefs and turns them into witnesses.

The intimate groups are faced with three sides of truth. Jaz and Lou's accounts are broken up by the actual events of the night and the small crowd transforms from confidants into voyeurs, peeking into a large box of sorts through slits at eye-level that give into the action. The lovers drink and chat before the vibe suddenly turns upside-down and one of them becomes too pushy for the other's taste.

Each version disproves the other but is still righteous in its own way. Yet, according to one, consent was withdrawn and their line of comfort was crossed, essentially turning the date into sexual assault. All the cues are there for the public to catch when they watch what really happened in the flat, but it's up to them to weigh in the reasons why they weren't picked up at the time.

Greyscale is a compelling 30-minute experiment that, just like real life, doesn't provide any answers; it lets the audience actively engage with the information supplied but leaves them questioning. The single narratives of the characters matched with the chance to see their movements first-hand interrogate the viewers on sexual misconduct and perception, giving them the tools to draw their own conclusions and examine their own demeanour.

Urgent, swift, and exceptionally clever, the piece hands over all the elements to stir a personal reflection on behaviour and awareness.

Greyscale runs at VAULT Festival until 17 March.

Photo credit: Ali Wright

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