Click here!

You Cannot Go Forward From Where You Are Right Now

You Cannot Go Forward From Where You Are Right NowLeslie Black Photography

He’s not living in the world anymore. He has his wires coming out of both ears, and blackberry glued to one hand, updating this, and sending this to this, but what’s he sharing – nothing, he’s passing on nothing to nothing. Read more …

Lunch time. A city in the rain. You’ve driven three hundred miles. You buy a drink. You walk down the stairs into a basement, where a performance is about to begin.

A play about talking and technology, and drinking at lunch time.


The critical consensus

A non-naturalistic, round robin sequence of events mixed with moments of distraction and interruption, the end result is a drama that struggles to communicate its meaning.

**(*)(*)(*)Alan Chadwick, The Herald, 12/10/2011

James Grieve’s production draws terrific performances, though, from actors Sandy Neilson, Rebecca Elise and Rachel Ogilvy; in a play that sets its cast some ferocious formal challenges, and almost succeeds in making every one of them worthwhile.

***(*)(*)Joyce McMillan, 12/10/2011

You Cannot Go Forward From Where You Are Right Now disappoints slightly with an ending which veers into science fiction territory – keeping its focus on the human condition throughout would have had a greater impact.

***(*)(*)Edinburgh Spotlight, 18/10/2011

With a disjointed and slow narrative, possibly reflecting the fractured patterns of our communicative abilities, it sometimes comes across as a little inaccessible.

***(*)(*)Andrew, TV Bomb, 18/10/2011

If the play’s central question – whether we rely too much on technology – is an obvious one, Watson’s refusal to give a simple answer is the piece’s strength.

****(*)David Kettle, The Edinburgh Reporter, 19/10/2011

So what does this meditative title tell us about the drama that author David Watson wants us to embrace? Well, not a lot, other than that the cast get to say it meaningfully toward the end of the show.

**(*)(*)(*)Josie Balfour, The Scotsman, 21/10/2011

The play asks the questions, as and the Brechtian theatrical mode leaves it to the audience to answer them, in whatever flawed way that it can. It is a challenging play, but when the lights go up and you automatically reach for your BlackBerry, you begin to think you might a little direction back to the real world.

***(*)(*)Caroline Bottger, The Journal, 03/11/2011

Where and when?

A Play, a Pie and a Pint, Glasgow from Monday October 10, 2011, until Saturday October 15, 2011. More info: http://playpiepint.com

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh from Tuesday October 18, 2011, until Saturday October 22, 2011. More info: www.traverse.co.uk

Comments: 0 (Add)

To post a comment, you need to sign in or register. Forgotten password? Click here.

Find a show


Search the site


Find us on …

Find us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFind us on YouTube