Drawing on absurdist theatre and visual symbolism Flabbergast Theatre presents Paper Swans at Soho Theatre.
In a closed park at night, a security guard on his patrol finds a young woman dressed in a ballet dress sitting on the bench making paper swans. As he tries to find out what she is doing and why, he locks them in a continuous never-ending loop; trapped as they encounter each other over and over again. However, each time they meet, there is a slight change in the situation and things progress, albeit at their own, fragmented pace.
Influenced by Theatre of the Absurd, this play is a Rorschach test for audiences, where the meaning behind the cycle in which its characters are trapped remains always diffuse or just out of reach. And yet, through skilful physicality, the actors explore the unconscious meaning behind their situation, allowing the audience to draw personal conclusions, each relating the symbolism to their own life in equally valid, but disparate ways.
Writer Vyte Garriga is delicately informed by her own experiences of being born in the Soviet Union, her understanding of violence, and the “ridiculousness of oppression”, and although these concepts never surface directly, they remain atmospherically inferred.
Drawing on absurdist theatre, visual symbolism and Vyte's personal experience, as a woman from a post-Soviet country (Lithuania) coming to the UK, this show insists on play and creativity as a vehicle for freedom, and invites audiences to laugh, rebel, and luxuriate in self-understanding.
Paper Swans is strikingly funny, with a dark humour and a twisted physicality. It features an original score by renowned English folk musician Nick Hart, which draws on traditional Lithuanian music.
Listings
Venue: Soho Theatre Upstairs, 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE
Dates: Monday 28 April – Saturday 3 May 2025
Tickets: From £15 | BOOK NOW
Running time: 60 minutes
Age recommendation: 14+