Review: OPERATION BLACK ANTLER, Southbank Centre

Operation Black Antler marked Blast Theory and Hydrocracker's sell-out venture at the Brighton Festival last year. Now they bring it to London as, one assumes, a bigger and more complex production, not quite succeeding in their ambitions.

They invite their audience to "assume the role of an undercover officer" and have them wander around to drag intelligence out of members of the Far Right, who are rather unwilling to talk. It's certainly an interesting concept, and infiltrating a protest group might be up the street of many immersive theatre aficionados, but, as presented in collaboration with the Southbank Centre, the event is a sub-par experience.

Underwhelming and inconclusive, the world they expect the public to sneak into isn't set up well enough. The rushed start is then followed by a dragging central part that leads nowhere. The quantity of people involved as patrons seem to be a slight issue too, as the numbers and the way they're led around makes it hard to buy into the fantasy.

Besides the technical and operative problems that the production displays, the quality of acting and the orchestrations required to make it work are also disappointing. It's simply difficult to believe that anything is happening for real. There's also a series of long waits where one's suspension of disbelief is entirely blown up - partially caused by the sheer amount of other people, and by the lack of investment the company creates.

Another point to keep in mind is that groups who have booked together are probably going to be split up. This is a matter which is always somewhat baffling: it might be useful to bring out a specific type of gut reaction from the participants, but more often than not it can turn into a major nuisance, as some might want to spend their evening with those they came with rather than strangers.

Overall, it's a show that has so much promise and potential but none of it is fulfilled in this incarnation. Tighter direction, better scaling and snappier advancement may be needed to turn Operation Black Antler from a mediocre theme park version of the work done by highly skilled agents to the haunting and high-pressure experience it could offer.

Operation Black Antler runs at an off-site location and culminates at Southbank Centre until 13 April.

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