Works and Days review – wild ride charts the arc of human progress

Lyceum, EdinburghPerformers dig up the stage, roll in the sack and merge with machines in Belgian theatre collective FC Bergman’s arresting showBelgian theatre collective FC Bergman’s take on “the crisis of modernity” in this show, which travels from the ancient world to mechanisation, is nothing if not wild. The boards of the stage are dug up with a plough at the start – a sign of things to come. A chicken is bashed in a sack as part of a pagan sacrifice (the real chicken remains unharmed), a naked man emerges from within an animal’s carcass and there is an apocalyptic landscape of erupting pineapples.It’s wacky, but stays just on the right side of reckless. Directed by Stef Aerts, Joé Agemans, Thomas Verstraeten and Marie Vinck, and part of the Edinburgh international festival, this is a wordless piece, based on muscular movement and stunning live music composed by Joachim Badenhorst and Sean Carpio. The arresting scenes mark the arc of human progress, from the taking up of tools onwards. When the industrial age dawns, a steam engine is shown with human limbs wrapped around it, as if they are extensions of the machine. Continue reading...

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