Presented as a work-in-progress, Morgan Thomas’ Flash already has a polished feel to it. The stage in the Atrium, for this one night only performance, was set with a white disco curtain in the middle as if suspended in mid-air. This illusory device was only part of the deliberately mixed up realities the audience were privy to.
Thomas presents a character, rather than a fully formed story, that travels from life event to life event, and gives us a look in at the twisted reality he has created to escape the consequence and hurt he experiences from these events. This reality is one of a child, stuck in the body of a man, full of imagination and childs-play. This makes for very entertaining watching. There is a sense that the semi formed stories within the piece are, at least in part, autobiographical. This aspect means that there is a punch behind the entertainment.
What we witness is a montage of distorted Queen (the band) videos, disembodied voices from the Gods (or from wherever Freddie Mercury is spending the afterlife), a brilliant drum solo on a toy kit, and a mass of confusion (this is deliberate and well placed). What Thomas is doing here is admirable in its form – he mashes technology with an almost stand up routine performance style and lets his audience in with his many interactions with them.
On the night there were quite a few sound issues with the voiceovers – this may be to do with the space configuration or tech used. This did hamper the overall clarity of the performance – in other words I felt I was missing things I ought not to miss. The only other slight quibble I had was of a dramaturgical nature.
There is a point toward the end of the performance where Thomas, whilst talking to Freddie Mercury in the Gods, spelled out why the performance was jumping from one reality to the other. I would like to see this flipped on its head: Thomas could push draw even more distinct lines between the realities at play, as in when showing the abstract push it to the extreme, and when encountering life events play it so plainly – but never explain why. Trust the audience to ‘get’ the metaphor(s).
Otherwise, this show is great and packed with fun. As a work-in-progress it is certainly far beyond any scratch performance you normally see. Rather I get the sense piece is nearly there, wherever ‘there’ is I don’t know – but I am it is still formulation in Thomas’ mind.
What impressed me most about this performance was Thomas’ generosity as a performer – this somehow comes through in this piece. One can usually spot this easily enough when it comes to duologue or ensemble performance – but it is rare to be able to see it in a one man show.
While this was a one night only performance I predict we will see Flash very soon again.