Synopsis

A bare stage where reality and nightmare blur, and everyday life teeters on the edge of catastrophe

Bobby a child trapped in a house during an unspecified emergency, and his parents sail blithely towards “the world’s rim”. As unseen narrators dissect these scenarios with clinical detachment, we witness the gradual unravelling of societal norms and the thin veneer of safety that we cling to.

Crimp’s sparse, rhythmic dialogue creates a hypnotic atmosphere where the mundane and the horrific collide. The play’s innovative structure, with its omniscient narrative voices and lack of traditional characters, forces the audience to piece together the fractured story. Through its exploration of violence, alienation, and psychological trauma, Fewer Emergencies offers a chilling commentary on our collective fears and the fragility of the worlds we build around ourselves. The recurring motifs of light, boating, and the “little song” serve as unsettling touchstones in a landscape where improvement and decay are chillingly intertwined.