When I left my house to see Theatre Inconnu’s latest production, Bull, I had no real idea of what I was in store for. Directed by Don Keith and written by British playwright Mike Bartlett, Bull is a quick-witted and dark summary of the spiral of shame one person can fall into while being gaslit and bullied in a corporate environment.
Bull has four characters. The protagonist, Thomas, played by James Johnson, is likeable but obviously very insecure, which makes him the easy target for his two co-workers, Isobel (Rebecca Elliot), and Tony (Nolan Fidyk), who have teamed together to climb the corporate ladder, obviously needing to remove any obstacle (which in this case happens to be Thomas), that stands in their way. The dialogue between the three characters is sometimes very funny, but for the most part, quite difficult to watch, as the tactics that Isobel and Tony use are obviously there to crush Thomas’ spirit and his hope for success. The play starts off with light teasing but quickly turns sinister, and is often very brutal to absorb, as the emotions expressed by all three are easy to relate to and might make an audience member recall personal situations and question their own motives, their own chosen paths.
Although his part did not have as much stage time, the fourth character, Carter (Alan Penty), owned the show, in my opinion. Carter is the jovial yet frightening, very successful boss, who all three desperately want to impress. Penty plays his part with the perfect amount of smarminess, his charm literally oozing out of him. Charming or not, though, it’s obvious that one wrong word with Carter will end a career, leading an employee to abandon their own moral fibre in order to stay in his good grace.
Although Bull is often painful to take in, it’s brilliant and very much worth seeing. I do suggest, though, taking a few breaths to prepare, especially if you’ve experienced any type of bullying. Bull will turn up your empathy metre, but also possibly encourage some deep reflecting.