Review: CHATHAM HOUSE RULES, Pleasance London

“I’m killing someone on TikTok and I’m missing the best bits”

A hit at this year's Edinburgh Fringe, as soon as you enter the theatre for Chatham House Rules, you know that you’re in for something bizarre. Dead centre stage is a giant pair of legs, the limbs taking up most of the space on stage. Written and performed by Louis Rembges, directed by Mitchell Polonsky and produced by Ellen Larson, the show takes us into the world of Host, a former social media influencer who has kidnapped former Prime Minister David Cameron. Behind the pair of legs, a screen displays an endless stream of TikToks ranging from cute animals to pranking family members. 

Host, played brilliantly by Rembges, is not only a kidnapper - he’s a “front of house, mixologist, cloakroom guardian, finsta meme exec, human signpost, agent provocateur, toilet pointer, TikTok darling.” Within his first few minutes on stage, Host switches back and forth from the host of the Myopic Technology Showcase to a stressed influencer about to perform a dangerous stunt, each setting a tone of suspense for the rest of the show. After this suspense is built, we are introduced to Host in the present, who is sitting next to the dying body of David Cameron (never referred to by name, typically referred to as “pig f*cker”), telling the story to both him and the audience. 

As someone who tends to be wary of screens being used during shows, I was incredibly impressed by Rembges’ incorporation of technology into Chatham House Rules. The screen becomes a character itself, turning into different applications like TikTok, WhatsApp, and Zoom while also becoming an effective background at times when it is not needed. Moments of interaction with the screen are very well timed, with the things that Host is typing on his phone immediately showing up on the screen.

Along with a great use of technology, Rembges has an enviable talent when it comes to prose, coming up with creative phrases like “Anonymous faces, cartoon masks” to represent troll accounts and commenting on how “a photograph is just a bunch of light hitting a plate.” I particularly enjoyed one motif that continued to return throughout, the concept of how the rich can host fancy parties while regular people cannot even get an ambulance to come and help them, leading to the repeated saying “all my guests are dead.” 

I won’t go into detailed spoilers for the ending of Chatham House Rules, but I will say that it has some incredible twists in it, with one actually making my jaw drop when I realised exactly what was happening. Rembges has the audience in the palm of his hand and I found myself eagerly anticipating every word spilling from his mouth, whether it was a beautiful burst of prose or an angry monologue on the state of the world we live in.

While I wanted to love Chatham House Rules, and I certainly loved the ideas presented by Rembges, the show as a whole struggled to put the pieces together, battling itself with its themes. While the constant switching between times and the unreliable narrator may have been purposeful choices, they made it difficult to understand and sympathise with Host and his decision to kidnap David Cameron.

We are told through monologues and poetry about the lack of attention given to the NHS before being thrown into a technology conference with references to the rich and famous that I tended to miss. Things are made clear by the second half of the show, but it is difficult to focus during the first half, making it less enjoyable and more frustrating. 

Ultimately, Chatham House Rules has an interesting concept, fun writing and a great performer but struggles to find itself in the first half, making it difficult to follow for the rest of the show until the powerful ending.

Having some more updated memes as time passes would also greatly benefit the show, allowing it to change and making it a more appealing rewatch. Rembges has a fascinating show on his hands and I look forward to seeing more work combining social media and politics from the younger generations in the future. 

Chatham House Rules ran at Pleasance London on 10 and 11 November 2023.

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