Surreal, dark and scary – and that was just the encore
Brexit – A Rational Anthem for a National Tantrum
Saturday night saw the Brexit spectacle to end all spectacles: actor Andy Serkis dressed as Theresa May singing a Brexit-themed reworking of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody as Gollum from Lord of the Rings backed by a full choir. You read that correctly. Wearing chunky pearls and a power suit, a cropped grey wig
and wacky shoes, the Black Panther actor hissed and sputtered his way through the song as he mimicked the Prime Minister’s awkward physicality and Eu-related mental torment. Serkis faked a coughing fit, made thrusting movements and even suppressed a Nazi salute. It was the most bizarre performance I’ve seen for years and it wholly upstaged the event for which it was meant to serve as an amusing encore, a Brexit-themed oratorio composed by Nitin Sawhney.
The first half of the evening showcased Sawhney’s back catalogue and then came the oratorio itself. Named Brexit – A Rational Anthem for
a National Tantrum, the threemovement piece was commissioned for Sky Arts’ Art 50 project. The first movement, sung by the London Contemporary Voices choir, was written from the Leavers’ point of view. “We believe in separation,” the choir sang. The pre-recorded audio interviews that overlaid the second movement were with people from “up and down the country”, all of whom happened to be Remainers. It was all fine but, like Brexit itself, felt a bit wishy-washy. Sitting in The Barbican, a cauldron for the liberal metropolitan elite if there ever was one, there was an inescapable feel of Orchestral Remoaners in the Dark to proceedings.
And then came Serkis. He walked on stage doing the godawful ‘May-bot’ dance to Abba’s Dancing Queen, just as our Prime Minister did in an attempt to take the mick out of herself. Here was an actor in drag lampooning our Prime Minister lampooning herself. It was surreal, dark and scary. And a far better reflection of our times.