Belgian theatre collective Ontroerend Goed & The Border Project delivered a cunning exposure of the flaws and fragility of the democratic voting systems by which we elect our political leaders, turning the election process into a performance which, though thought-provoking, lacked the theatrical ‘magic’ needed to captivate an audience.  

Playing on the modern obsession with TV sudden death voting, while perhaps commenting on the fast-fading division between politicians and celebrities during a week when the British public gossiped over David Cameron’s topless beach photos, this election was a superficial ‘likeability’ contest. Voting pads were handed to each of us on arrival, which we used to elect our ‘favourite’ of five candidates for an unspecified position. This was audience participation taken to another level, as we were forced to confront the prejudices which led us to select our ‘favourite’ candidate.

The candidates were revealed gradually, the first round of votes being cast with only their feet on display. The leather brogues won hands down: a moment of humour tempered with a collective cringe as the superficiality of our own preferences made itself apparent. 

The audience was also subjected to scrutiny, answering questions about our gender, age, marital status, religious beliefs and income. Staying silent was not an option, as the software would only process the data when every audience member had participated. This effectively created a palpable atmosphere of discomfort in the self-aware audience: more than once I caught myself glancing around the stalls, trying to suss out fellow spectators and guess their particulars.

While the premise of this production was certainly interesting, 90 minutes of identical voting rounds did not function particularly well as a ‘performance’. Was the audience’s visible boredom a subtle comment on our political apathy, or just the result of a flimsy and repetitive piece of drama?

The final announcement of “the true winner of this election” was, however, powerful in its suggestion that democratic voting renders the individual invisible: “Your majority: an atheist married female aged 30-35 who earns £25,000.” While Fight Night felt more like a group exercise at a conference than a gripping theatrical production, its pointed exposure of our political system was undeniably clever and effective.