A History of Everything
Reviews

A History of Everything is just as the name states - Ontroerend Goed take us on a journey backwards through time that proves to be an original and engaging piece. Very different from the company’s previous shows in the Drum, the actors are a group of 7 young people, and through their excellent performance and use of props and staging they manage to create something special.

On the Drum stage a huge map of the world is revealed, stark white on the black floor, on which the actors will present the massive timeline of events – some hugely significant, others trivial and humorous – in various ways. In this there is a good balance of laugh-out-loud moments with serious points for thought. The pace of it too works well; the piece finds itself frantic at points and deliberately slowed right down at others, as is the nature of our world’s development, and reaches a final point which is hugely climactic and becomes quite emotional.

There is no need for fussy technical effects and the actors simply dressed in black keep the focus on the story – and though it’s essentially a factual account, it becomes this: a story, as director Alexander Devriendt says ‘a show about history is always a story, selected and put together by humans… No matter how scientific or exact the data, the beauty lies in how you deal with it as an individual.’

 It is something we can all relate to, and calls for us to think about our place in the world and its evolution, the universe and in history. It is clever but unpretentious, ‘It’s not a warning sign, nor depressing’. In fact it is quite heartening, a humbling look at our insignificance that makes for a very memorable piece of theatre that audiences of all kinds will enjoy.