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BrumHour saw Minority Report at the invite of Birmingham Rep.
By Laura Creaven twitter.com/FulltotheBrum
Review: Minority Report at Birmingham Rep
⭐⭐⭐⭐”A punchy, gripping play”
Directed by Max Webster, qritten by David Haig, based on the short story by Philip K Dick
Set in the near future, scientists and lawmakers have managed to predict crimes, particularly murders, before they happen. Known as ‘precrimes’, the ability to prevent lawlessness is big business and political capital. As the company is on the verge of expanding to America, the CEO is outed as a pre-criminal and must act fast to find out whether the system and her life’s work is at fault.
Less an adaptation and more inspired by, Minority Report the play takes a fresh and contemporary approach to novelist Philip K Dick’s concept of ‘precrime’ – the ability to predetermine crime and imprison potential criminals before they commit the crime. Whilst it shares these themes with the 2002 film starring Tom Cruise, it takes a different approach with a female lead character, played brilliantly by Jodie McNee. As Dame Julia Anderton, a CEO and neuroscientist who becomes a pre-criminal on the run, McNee is a commanding presence on stage and takes the audience along with her gauntlet of emotions as she struggles to understand what – and why – this is happening. Tension is eased slightly by sardonic virtual assistant David, played by Tanvi Virmani, who brings some light relief and companionship.
Fast-paced and compelling, Minority Report translates viscerally to the stage keeping the audience hooked throughout the whole 90-minute runtime (without interval). The stage design is fantastic, projecting a cinematic sense of a glossy near-future whilst also managing to simultaneously hint at a darker dystopia outside away from the powerful elite. This is accompanied well by a brilliant use of light and sound, which keeps the tension of the story even between scenes. Perhaps the only part I was less keen on was the dance numbers used as scene transitions, which felt more like A-Level Drama than slick sci-fi on stage.
Minority Report deals with a barrage of philosophical questions: free will vs predestination, what it is to be human, the risks of technology, and what freedoms we give up in the pursuit of safety. But much like the pace of the play, the audience is not invited to consider the questions for long before another challenge arrives – which only adds to the thrill. Yet it also manages to be bang up to date, with references to Covid, AI, and a divisive political referendum.
A short, punchy play that challenges what it is to be human, Minority Report will keep you gripped and give you plenty to think about well after the play is over.
Minority Report is at the Birmingham Rep until Saturday 6th April 2024, book tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/minority-report.
