EDINBURGH 2023: EXTREME (THE NEW NORM) Q&A

BWW catches up with Slovak Theatre in London to chat about bringing Extreme (The New Norm) to the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Extreme (The New Norm)

“Reality lightened up with humour,” – devised play Extreme [The New Norm] is inspired by the exact experience that paused our creative work for nearly three years. Pandemic rules brought us contrasting experiences. We couldn’t rely on what would happen in the next hour, let alone in the next month. We found ourselves living beyond the norm. Extremes became the norm. The show reflects on the biggest event of our century, which globally influenced the life of every individual. In a colourful collage of scenes and characters, showing the contrasting situations brought by the pandemic, many times based on true events. Through collaborative devising, by using physical movements, music, and songs, we explore the patterns of behaviour of society and individuals in a time of catastrophe. While this stage of our lives might already seem distant, their artistic treatment emphasizes the experience of crisis rather than the event itself, as it desires to serve as a mirror to challenge opinions and call to new perspectives. Ultimately, the show, filled with both seriousness and humour, offers a collective therapy through art.

How was it a collaborative effort?

The cast members co-wrote the script. During the creative process, not only the director or choreographer but everyone involved contributed to one cohesive mosaic, the beauty of which lies in the fact it’s as varied as we all are. Finding a common voice and understanding was key in this process and remains key in bringing this production to the audience. What’s more, all music, choreography and costumes are original creations tailored for this show!

Why is this an important story to tell?

Whilst we tried to avoid the pandemic as a central plot construct to start with, we soon realised that the one pillar that bears a load of all the different kinds of extremes in our lives is precisely this recent event. We like to think that the theme of the COVID-19 pandemic found us. We remember as we all sat in a circle and started to share our ideas for the new play. When we compared our notes we were surprised to learn that we were all challenged, hurt, or even changed during this dramatic period of time. The pandemic was a springboard for many stories, gags, thoughts and facts that we further explored and mixed together. It is true that at first some audiences we approached reacted to it as something they don’t want to be reminded of but then when we eventually convinced them to see the show they were, as much as we were, surprised by the response and overall emotional exchange and experience. We found that the show is also more humorous than we intended yet keeps the relevant respect to this sensitive topic, it all turns in our favour! Overall, the audience feedback has been amazing so far, which motivated us to participate in fringe.

Who would you like to come and see it?

The mission of our theatre is to connect through art. So, we welcome really everyone to see the show, no matter the occupation, experience, or opinion. However, the style of the show probably wouldn't be very engaging for very little children, but it isn’t restricted to them either. To date, the show has been received very well by different audiences across the UK and Europe. Although the majority were Slovak and Czech communities, we had people of different generations and professions visiting our shows, from diplomats to conspiracy theorists, and all of them enjoyed the show. That was satisfying for us as creators because we promote art as a way of connecting rather than dividing people, no matter what your opinion on the issue is, we try to explore the human factor in every situation.

What would you like audiences to take away from it?

Our artistic approach to this show was to mirror rather than judge and stay as objective as possible. As we claim the show is “a satiric reflection”, and so we reflect sometimes on the most extreme opposite experiences and responses to the pandemic with the aim of finding a universal understanding within society and gently pointing out what really matters at the end of the day (or every crisis). To put it simply, without any further spoilers, we like to leave the final impression on the audience but there are hidden metaphors from the start to the end and one of the key ones would definitely be that we are all more similar than different, seeking to be understood and connected. And where’s a better place to do that than in the theatre? Come to witness it yourself and let us know if we achieved our goal!

Photo credit: Oliver Nemcovsky

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