Donald Hutera
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Since 1991 Stan's Cafe has been devising theatrical experiences in various media and often in unconventional settings such as barns, swimming pools or the back of a lorry. Its current work is witty, at times over-whelming and always thought-provoking. It is well worth going out of your way to see it.
Situated in a metalworks factory in the company's home town of Birmingham, and open daily (not Mondays) from noon till 9pm, this is more installation than performance. Here is a show with a cast of billions, from the 21 Elvis Presleys on the UK electoral roll to all the Christians in Brazil to those who died of starvation in China between 1959 and 1962, each represented by a grain of rice, 112 tonnes of it, in fact.
A team of friendly, discreetly busy actors in brown lab coats has split the world into island-like geographical zones spread throughout a series of large, interconnecting rooms. Everywhere there is white paper upon which various amounts of rice - from single grains to mountainous piles - have been tidily placed. Each is neatly labelled according to what it signifies, whether an individual (Condoleezza Rice), small groups (those who've walked on the Moon) or entire populations.
This is not just heaven for numbers freaks. Running the gamut from politics and popular culture to history, health, environmental issues and more, it has true scope. It's topical, too. Here are the redundancies of the Lehman Brothers debacle, and there the travellers stranded abroad by the collapse of the XL Leisure Group. Some juxtapositions are ironic, sobering or plain odd: single male billionaires beside Hamburg's registered prostitutes; immigrants arrested along the US-Mexican border and those illegally employed to construct the fence; Brangelina's kids against children in local authority care. The show expands daily until it closes. All the rice will be returned to the food chain, except for the grain that you pick up at the entrance. Wonderful.
Box office: 0844 8883883. Until Oct 5
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