Day of the Locust ⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Callum Patrick Hughes rips apart Nathanael West's 1930's Great American Novel, rebuilding it with loop pedals, guitar drones and a soundscape of broken dreams and fading stardom. The burning city of Hollwood's Golden Age collides with US contemporary chaos in a production described as part adaptation, part riot, part protest song."

Something is intriguing about Day of the Locust. A solo performance built around live effects, music and a literary source is certainly an ambitious proposition, and there are moments where the production really demonstrates what can be achieved with one performer, a microphone and a frankly impressive collection of pedals. However, it is a piece that occasionally feels like it is waiting for the dramatic intensity to catch up with the technical skill on display.

The direction is good, although there isn't a huge amount of movement within the staging. For much of the performance, the performer remains positioned around the effects pedals, which can make the stage picture feel rather static. However, the moments when he does break away and move further forward are especially effective. Those changes in proximity immediately create a greater sense of intimacy and connection with the audience, and I found myself wishing there were more moments where the staging trusted that physical shift.

The set design keeps things deliberately simple, with a few boxes and film creating the environment. However, the real centrepiece is the microphone and collection of effects pedals, which take centre stage both literally and metaphorically. It is a clever choice because the equipment becomes part of the storytelling instead of simply being technical machinery sitting around the performer.

The lighting is similarly understated, relying on a simple wash. It works for the majority of the piece and ensures the attention remains firmly on the performer. However, I would have liked to see the lighting shift more noticeably during the personal moments. There are opportunities to signal those changes in emotional intensity visually, and allowing the lighting to become slightly more responsive could have added an extra layer to the storytelling.

The sound design is a mixed bag. At times, the volume becomes extremely loud, to the point where it felt physically overwhelming and there was almost a sharp sting in my ears. This made some of the louder moments difficult to enjoy fully. When the levels are more controlled, however, the sound becomes one of the production's most interesting elements. I particularly enjoyed the way the production plays with layers of underscore, enabling sound to build, distort and reshape the atmosphere around the performer.

The book is an interesting proposition, particularly given that the production is based on the novel The Day of the Locust. I will admit that I went into the performance without having read the source material, and I found myself struggling at times to understand exactly what I was watching and why certain moments were happening.

After reading the novel, however, the production became considerably clearer to me. The added context helped me understand the characters, themes and choices far more effectively. Because of this, I recommend reading the novel before seeing the production if you want to get the most from it. That shouldn't necessarily be a requirement for theatre, but in this case the source material provides a significant amount of context that the production itself doesn't always establish.

The performance by Callum is good, the live manipulation of the effects pedals is particularly clever, and there is a real sense of musicianship in the way sounds are created, layered and transformed in real time. An enormous amount of skill has gone into acquiring the technical side of the performance.

Where I wanted a little more was in the emotional connection. The technical work is undoubtedly impressive, but sometimes I wanted the performance to let the emotion come through more strongly rather than allowing the effects and sound to carry so much of the weight. When Callum moves closer to the audience or strips things back, there are glimpses of that greater connection, and these moments are some of the most effective in the production.

Overall, Day of the Locust is an interesting Fringe experiment with some seriously impressive technical tricks up its sleeve. But bring your ears and your reading list.