Written by Anne Washburn, Mr Burns, a Post-Electric Play is a commentary on a range of broad-stroke themes: the imminent arrival of an apocalypse, the USA's obsession with capitalism and an indissoluble desire to remember, our stories, our memories and, ultimately, our culture.
As the longest running animated television series, it's perfect that The Simpsons encapsulates the culture of our times. Specifically, it is the Cape Feare episode parodying the Martin Scorsese movie remake that functions as the major conceit of the play.
Running at 2 hours and 15 (including interval) this is a long play. Strongly narrative driven, the opening act is perhaps the most successful. Shadows loom large and flashlights sweep into corners as a group of huddled survivors struggle to recite and revive their memories of the episode in the face of a nuclear disaster.
Fast forward seven years, the same faces, and a few new ones, reassemble for rehearsal of the same episode.
However, in this world diet coke is traded for lithium batteries, actors have guns in their back pockets, lines need to be bought as memories grow distant and commercials now feature a mash-up of 90s pop music references.
