It's all about the meta as these Cambridge students quite literally 'occupy' a fringe theatreConstance Meath Baker

The sight of the Occupied cast intermingling with audience members in the foyer of the Greenside studio before the show set the tone for the performance that would follow. Not an immersive piece, Occupied is nevertheless a play which invites the audience to inhabit the position of 'fly on the wall', watching a group of students occupying a theatre in protest against a perceived elitist ownership and lack of left-wing projects. Inspired by the Lady Mitchell Hall occupation in Cambridge in 2011, Occupied places the audience in the ambiguous position of being able to both observe conversations from a detached perspective, whilst also being addressed as a further member of the group, notably through wonderfully performed songs.

The writing itself contained much to be commended; heated exchanges about the purchase of houmous followed hesitant flirtation attempts, in a realistic cross section of the sort of conversation that might occur between such a confined group, and the script provided ample space for diverse characterisation. Particularly amusing were the disputes between characters claiming to represent different left-wing stances; anarchists met socialists and left-wing intellectuals admitted right-wing leniency by the end. These left-wing stock types proved the subjects of satire but were also granted space to clarify their viewpoints. The university student's often contradictory struggle for self-definition was well captured.

Much of the acting tended towards the highly naturalistic and understated, and for the most part, this was executed to great effect. Ben Hawkins and Jamie Webb were particularly impressive in their roles, displaying clever comic timing but equally an ability to instil sympathy in the audience as they made advances towards the female characters; the latter is to be particularly commended for his lack of inhibition, appearing in one instance only in a Spiderman dressing gown which was parted several times to the amusement of the audience. 

The cohesiveness of the cast and variety of acting styles in this production is impressive; Hawkins and Webb were particularly well complemented by the more abrasive and confident Matt Bradley, who was compelling to watch when allowed to take centre stage. However, at times the style of the piece was impeded by a lack of naturalism; often the action became bitty and one saw the actors not involved in dialogue visibly altering their posture or position on stage in preparation for their own input. This risked dividing the play into mini duologues, perhaps rehearsed individually, to the detriment of the energy onstage. Similarly, the strength of the actors mentioned above was not perhaps found across the cast, with fluffed and forgotten lines hindering the flow on the night in question. Nevertheless, Occupied was highly entertaining, proving both light-hearted and thought-provoking in equal measure, and is well worth your time.