L’ Addition @ the Battersea Arts Centre (BAC)
A Tim Etchells and Bert and Nasi production.
Produced by Forced Entertainment.
Director: Tim Etchells
Text by: Tim Etchells with Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutsas
Devised and performed by: Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutsas
Lighting Design: Alex Fernandes
Composer & Sound Design: Graeme Miller
Production Management: Forced Entertainment
This production is an English-language version of the original French production by Festival d’Avignon in 2023.
L’Addition (french for the ‘check/bill’) is a piece of physical theatre by the performance duo, Bert and Nasi (funnily enough, a French and a Greek guy). I had the pleasure of witnessing this show in an endless loop of a waiter and a customer’s shenanigans, simply trying to order some wine. And let me tell you, I needed quite a bit of wine myself.
This one-act comedy, brought a lot of laughter and wit, through a technique of either constantly breaking and building a fourth wall or simply hallucinating the existence of the audience. Both of those scenarios seem equally realistic for this hilarious, never-ending encounter.
I began wondering quite early on what the point of the story exactly is, while suspecting that the actors secretly has a bet going for who the audience would find the funniest. Although this genre is not my usual cup of tea, I must say I had a wonderful time at the BAC theatre and a genuine laugh too. Repetition of the pattern did lose its pace at one point but, just as if the actors could detect it, the second it was on the verge of dragging they would bring the attention back to the right place.
The movement direction and use of space and props are smart, responsive and inspired. Furthermore, a pun was made ‘when someone says they will do something in life and then they don’t’, which could not be more understood after witnessing the same scene for 1 hour. Clever touches such as the line ‘ I think they’ve paid enough’ and gesturing to the audience, or finishing off with the classic ‘It’s on the house!’ were spot-on.
And just like that with hints of satire, sarcasm and a hell lot of repetition, L’Addition has certainly given audiences a night at the theatre to remember… a bit too well!
