Review by Dan Sinclair
⭐️⭐️⭐️
In his 1950 paper, ‘Computing Machinery and Intelligence’, Alan Turing developed a test to see a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour. A human and a machine would have a conversation, and if, from the transcript, the two were indistinguishable, then that means humanity is doomed… or something like that. Olga Ravn’s 2021 novel, The Employees, grapples with this posthumanist idea of humans becoming machines, and machines becoming human. Directed by acclaimed Polish director Łukasz Twarkowski, The Employees marks his exciting UK debut, bringing a boisterous and bold multimedia spectacle to the Southbank Centre.

Olga Ravn’s novel, adapted by Joanna Bednarczyk, follows 6 human cadets and their 6 humanoid mimics aboard a spaceship owned by the mysterious ‘Organisation’. Earth has been destroyed long ago, and they float, unsure of their purpose. But they know that they are employees, so they must work, but quickly, through the fragmented story, the work begins to give way to cabin fever. A series of objects are stored onboard, including a mysterious rock which all find themselves drawn to. Human and non-human alike are forced to confront the ultimate question: what is it to be human?
At the core of the play is Cadet 12/B12, played beautifully by Maja Pankiewicz. Here is where the play is messiest, most tangled and most fascinating. For the majority of the play, we, and the other characters are unsure of whether we are looking at the human Cadet 12, or B12 the humanoid version - and neither is she. Her journey drives the story forward at every opportunity, until its fatal conclusion. Wrapped up in a will-they-won’t-they with Cadet 19, a sharp performance from Daniel Dobosz, she argues with the Organisation, with her fellow crewmates and confronts an audience with those big scary uncomfortable questions.

At the top of the show, the audience is encouraged to explore the space for themselves, rather than being planted to one seat for 180 minutes. Find a new angle, wonder about the space, peer through the curtains into Fabien Lédé’s set, get right up amongst it. It’s a wonderful invitation, with the piece taking place on the stage and simultaneously through the multimedia projected live on the top of the set. After a while, there was a movement for this British audience to get up and get stuck in. But then, everyone just sort of stopped doing it, realising that there was actually little to gain from getting a new angle with the majority of the piece instead taking place overhead on the screens - a view that rarely changes. It seemed that everyone moved freely in the space, and then once they had found a better seat, they stayed there for the remaining 2 hours.
The Employees is undoubtedly, a spectacle to behold, it is epic in every sense of the word. Lubomir Grzelak’s sound design is purposefully deafening, shaking the building, the lighting is otherworldly and camera work by Iwo Jabłoński and Gloria Grunig helps capture every single element on screen. Thick fog, neon, pulsing lights, it’s often overwhelming but a visual marvel. Whilst it is one of the most technically adventurous pieces I’ve ever seen, this falls into its problem of style (albeit an outstanding one) over substance. Coming away from the piece, I surprisingly felt very little. The big questions are pondered at length: what is it to be human? Work to live or live to work? The show never seemed to progress beyond the pondering stage, with a significant portion of the runtime boiling down to long shots of people walking down corridors with neutral expressions and suspenseful electro music. See it once, gorgeous. See it thirty times, then Willem Dafoe in Mr Bean's Holiday comes to mind.

As a piece of theatre, it has to be respected for its ambition, it is a tremendous piece of craftsmanship. Undeniably grand, from the directing, to the video to the performances, it’s top-notch. But much like the cadets aboard, I felt myself wanting more, something to get my teeth into. When it was good, it was really good; an opening titles scene introduced us to the ship, the live camera work and the stylings of Łukasz Twarkowski, slow motion and all. But as it reached its second hour, it seemed to run out of steam, apart from the sequence where the house lights and four movers gained sentience and complained about their work hours and lazy actors. That was inspired.
Go for the story, but stay for the design.
The Employees is playing at the Southbank Centre till 19th January.
Photos by Natalia Kabanow