New Diorama theatre, London
Sam Ward’s 90-minute romp through French history could be a five-star show, but in its current state it is too convoluted and incoherent to grasp

How do revolutions begin? Or: how did the protests of 1789 in France catch fire to become revolutionary? More than 200 years later, what can that seismic moment in Europe teach us about rising up to power, and about power itself?

These are some of the questions that Sam Ward’s 90-minute romp through French history raises. Enacted as a pumped-up satire to a backdrop of house music, shadow-play (great work from lighting designer Han Sayles) and a bouncy castle, it is a bold reduction of history. But what is it trying to say and do?