The Fahrenheit Twins at Barbican Pitt Theatre

The Fahrenheit Twins at Barbican Pitt Theatre

20 November, 2009
by: Naima Khan

No! Don’t kill the…Why did I think The Fahrenheit Twins was for kids? There are two very cute adults dressed as two very cute kids on stage, that might have something to do with it. They were pretending to be huskies a minute ago but now they’re talking about suspending the time-space continuum, having just blinded and killed a fox. No, this is not for children.

I’m sitting in the small dark Barbican Pit theatre facing an awesome rotating set. Essentially, it's a massive ice slide, the kind Pingu could only dream of. The Told By An Idiot production of The Fahrenheit Twins begins like it ends, quite flatly. It tells  of the adventures of twins growing up in the lonely Arctic planes while their anthropologist parents bury themselves in their work.

Introducing the story of two Bavarian anthropologists to Bowie’s 'Young Americans' is annoying. It seems like the song was chosen to up the energy but feels misplaced. I don’t buy lederhosen wearing Bavarians as being that hip or adventurous. But adventurous they are as they bound into an ice filled wonderland where they study the behaviour and rituals of the Gooey-inooey tribe. Can you see why I thought this could be children’s theatre?

It irks me that generic African folk music plays over our first encounter with the Gooey-inooey. Obviously all primitive, unstudied creatures suit this kind of soundtrack, even those found in the planet's icy zeniths. But that's it. Those are all the slightly negative points about an otherwise funny, endearing, play. The rest of it is hilarious and creative.

Performers Hayley Carmichael and Paul Hunter transform into the twins, their parents, huskies, a pair of foxes, and eventually the Gooey-inooey. They are champions of comedic silent theatre and much of the play is very physical and at times quite dark. The dialogue is streamlined, used solely to show us the twins' close relationship with each other, their distance from their parents, and their priceless thought patterns. Interestingly, Carmichael and Hunter chose to adapt the stories for stage because the twins kinship reflects their own tight bond; which explains their flawless performance.

For most of the play I'm engrossed and have a doting grandma-esque smile plastered across my face so adorable are the twins; but the story wouldn't be worth telling without the anguish. There come a few points where I'm glancing around to see if anyone else is tearing up or if I'm the only one having a moment. Their sleepless nights, their innocence and fear of the unknown are all too vivid. For the sake of the children, reality and fantasy embrace so you see their confusion over where one starts and the other begins.

The play makes me want to read the stories. The flat start and finish might read better on paper. The Fahrenheit Twins is a bit of a roller-coaster but not a torturous one. Playful and savage, the audience  laugs and winces in almost equal measure. The acting can't be overestimated and if nothing else, the set will impress enough to carry you through to the end.

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Naima Khan