Theatre review: Beats (King’s Head Theatre)

Kieran Hurley’s play, Beats, written in 2012 and looking back at the dying days of the rave scene in 1994, has had an interesting life.

First performed by Hurley himself, with DJ Johnny Whoop providing the music (and still referenced now, by Ned Campbell introducing himself and Tom Snell as ‘Kieran and Johnny’), it became an independent film in 2019.

Campbell has reimagined the play for a 21st century where peaceful public protest is under threat. He conjures up the character of not just 15-year old Johnno McCreadle, but the other players in this story, faultlessly bringing each one to life.

Making a point about politics, teenage rebellion (audience members of a certain age seemed to lean in to the pulsating experience of rave and first drug rush), and how decisions affect all our lives, Beats is a fiery, funny, and focused show.

The other main character is young PC Robert Dunlop, who gets an adrenaline rush from law-sanctioned violence, and of course, his path crosses with Johnno. Both are dealing with a Scotland scotch earthed by government policy and loss of industry.

In Campbell’s hands and through Hurley’s turn of phrase and imaginative script, Beats allows us to see inside both young and old, to see a mother’s fear of losing her son, to empathise with an old socialist mourning the spirit of togetherness, to head into the teenage world of nicknames and dares.

There are two moments I particularly liked. Johnno’s rave experience, fired by a pill and dancing, hugging, euphoric, experiencing a world outside his bedroom. Lit by Alex Lewer, this moment of pulsing lights takes us right into that muddy field of ‘repetitive beats’.

The other is Johnno’s mother, ironing in the middle of the night, listening to a song from the 80s which, maybe, reminds her of being a teen wearing cheap make-up and her first high heels.

Campbell co-directs with Eloise Poulton. There’s no set, just a chair, a DJ, and your imagination. The writing is so deep and rich that once you navigate the Scottish accents, you are totally immersed.

Friendship, beauty, opposition to law and authority: the rave scene had much in common with those industrial strikes recalled by Dunlop’s father. And now, the legitimate club scene and stop the war marches.

Although more could be made of the DJ being part of the performance, with more depth and integration, the tracks played by Snell offer context and ambience.

Beats is short, just an hour long. It hints at something of a future, and suggests how memories may change. But it is in Johnno’s moment in ecstasy – not scared, not surly, just inside a bubble of happiness – where this play makes its mark.

Beats continues at King’s Head Theatre until 27 Apr with tickets here.

***.5

Image credit: Josh McClure