Big Mouth

A great idea, Belgian-born Valentijn Dhaenens’ mini-epic Big Mouth, performs fragments of famous and not-so-famous oratory through the ages; from Socrates and Pericles to the present day offerings of George W Bush and Osama Bin Laden. Mimicking (to an extent… how can you mimic the unknowable such as Socrates?) and often, but not exclusively, speaking in the language they were first presented, this is about the power of language; how it can be used by the great and powerful to inspire, influence and manipulate. Interspersed with sound loops largely created by his voice, and using the many mics spread along a long table to create dynamism within the show, we are helped by subtitles where needed, and the names of the speakers and the relevant dates on a digital blackboard. However, it’s up to you to work out if some key phrases and passages are attempts at conscious manipulation, are simply comic, or whether they are truly held beliefs. And inevitably, the actor will telegraph, however subtlety, his interpretations, thereby further muddying the waters. Although it is almost impossible  to compete with, say, the incredibly powerful oratory skills of Martin Luther King and the accompanying television footage of the time, it’s still a fascinating show and an interesting history lesson, even if we are left feeling a little bit depressed.

Brighton Dome, Corn Exchange, 9 May 2013

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