Scavengers – Etcetera Theatre, Camden (Camden Fringe)

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

Writer: Bryan Oliver

“Intensely Apocalyptic”

3.5 / 5

The world was warned about the devastating effects that global warming could bring, but leaders didn’t act fast enough. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, a virus has taken over and ravaged the UK, many people dying and the survivors forced to scavenge for leftover items in abandoned shops and buildings. Wikki and Zeb have been a partnership since he saved her life at the beginning of the pandemic, but when a new survivor enters their world, will their loyalties stay strong?

The show starts fantastically, jumping straight into the action and setting the scene with clear indicators that it is a post-apocalyptic world, making the thrilling fast-paced introduction an excellent opening to a show. The generator has failed, the room is plunged into darkness aside from Zeb’s torchlight and a stranger has made his way upstairs, hunting around for food and supplies. Zeb (Grace Richardson) confronts the stranger, a terrified boy named Finn (Matteo Piombino) as he begs her for mercy, desperate for assistance. Piombino and Richardson brilliant convey their two characters – intensely trying to make the other understand and keeping the tension high as the audience awaits the arrival of Wikki (Neil Hobbs).

When Wikki arrives, he exudes dominance over the pair, establishing his relationship with Zeb quickly and effortlessly while simultaneously keeping Finn at a distance. The dynamic between the three is brilliantly implemented, the distrust, desperation and intrigue creeping into each of their interactions. The three sit and discuss their current situations and how they ended up here, providing welcome context about how the virus began and the state of the world currently, all while keeping their guards high. Hobbs comfortably and naturally takes control as the leader of the three, showcasing both Wikki’s sympathetic nature to slightly let Finn in, while also maintaining his power and dominance within the shelter he has made secure for them.

Bryan Oliver’s script is full of interesting character interactions and builds the sense of an apocalyptic world excellently alongside the well-designed set. The critique with the script is that each character is built up very well, then midway through the script, Zeb quickly drops her allegiance with Wikki despite everything they’ve been through and quickly decides to team up with Finn. This contradicts everything in their dialogue leading up to this point – how he’d saved her, how much they’ve been through, how distrusting she originally was of Finn, and is quickly replaced with sentiments from Finn such as ‘we get along so well don’t we’ – which considering they were supposed to have only known each other for a few minutes is completely out of the blue! Either it needs to show more time progressing between Zeb and Finn or the dialogue initially needs to show some reticence against Wikki to explain the sudden change.

Overall, this is an intriguing show with a great premise, and as the narrative goes on, the high-tension, fast-paced drama from the beginning of the show re-emerges, finishing with an intense and exciting finale. With a few tweaks to the dialogue to resolve some of the plot holes, this will be a really strong eco-thriller.

Runs until 20 August 2023