Review: RED PETER, Etcetera Theatre

In 1917 Franz Kafka wrote a short story titled A Report to an Academy. In the piece, he introduces an ape called Red Peter who, in order to escape captivity, has forced himself to behave like a man.

The novelist delineates what it took for the animal to abandon his natural instincts and seemingly join the world of men. Chris Yun-Ward directs a theatrical adaptation that presents an outstanding performance by Denzil Barnes.

The actor embarks on an exploration of the human disposition from the perspective of a caged animal. Eloquent in his struggles, he describes his journey from being shot twice and earning his name with blood to his being paraded around academies as a prodigy of nature. Flashbacks saturated with rage and misjudgment set the pace for his address to the public.

Barnes owns delicate and complex craft. He is captivating in his movements and displays an entrancing charisma with a meticulous delivery, setting a dynamic difference between his ape self and the new, evolved being he's become. Particular spacial awareness conveys the passionate retelling of his story, which lands with evocative and heartbreaking detail.

Self-preservation and pride start a fiery conflict when Red Peter stresses that he wasn't looking for freedom - a concept that, in his words, often betrays humans and was bound to be precluded to him from the start - but merely a way out. "Apes belong in lockers" so he needed to stop being one to be accepted.

Thus, Yun-Ward opens a discussion on the meaning of performative identity and the cruelty that permeates the system created by men. Red Peter might have learnt to be articulate and vain like them, but he remains an animal in the eyes of those who are exploiting him.

Barnes is exceptional in the psychological and physical characterisation of the role. Every movement he makes is specifically intended to correlate to the subject matter. From recomposing himself after a flashback to overdoing human pleasantries, his tour-de-force performance kick-starts an eye-opening reflection on societal cages and the perception of freedom.

Red Peter runs at Etcetera Theatre as part of Camden Fringe until 6 August.

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