Writer: Sabrina Mahfouz, with Thrive Creatives
Director: Caroline Bryant
In Greek mythology, Argos, also known as Argus Panoptes, was a giant with one hundred eyes who was sent to guard Io, a nymph in the form of a heifer. In our more modern world, it’s also the name of a store with a legendary catalogue. Although no longer available in printed form, the physical Argos Catalogue remains a powerful memory to anyone who used to pore over its pages.
Sabrina Mahfouz’s Argos Archives fuses both variants of Argos in this tale of a 30-year-old single mother, known only as Woman (Shakira Newton). She is on the autistic spectrum, has ADHD, and wants to fulfil her dreams so that she can be a role model for her young son, who is also autistic. An ambition to be an archivist having been stymied by an unsuccessful stint as a museum intern, Woman reacts to being told that she needs more customer-facing experience by applying for a job in her favourite store, Argos.
Woman’s attempt to work out what she should do and how to assemble a kick-ass application demonstrating how her life is reflected in the all-encompassing eclecticism of the store’s 7-digit catalogue items is aided by two companions. Archives (Jess Gough) is a repository of factual knowledge and information. Meanwhile, Eleanor Nawal’s Argos, decked out in denim festooned with many patchwork eyes, recalls Woman’s personal experiences and social interactions.
The warm, if occasionally snippy, interplay between the three characters is entertaining, while also helping to illustrate how Woman’s atypical thought processes work. References to particular products in specific years of the catalogue trigger reminiscences and recreations, from dancing to Rihanna’s Umbrella to using a Scalextric set to remember her mother’s reckless driving, or how an Elizabeth Duke Claddagh ring became the last link to a father she didn’t know.
Animated video designs by Charli Davis, Libertad Neves and Sophie Bramley supplement these snapshots, projected with a 3D awareness of the boxed shelving of Lu Herbert’s set design that elevates both set and video.
As the play assembles Woman’s job application, we see a side of her that a conventional interview process might all too easily dismiss. Newton’s final speech, delivered as if we, the audience, are the interview panel, is honest: if she is expected to give the job her all, she might be able to do that at times. At others, she might give half her all, or none. Those who have experienced both sides of the interview process will find some truth, and comfort, in such honesty.
The show ends with some audience participation as Newton attempts some stichomancy – fortune telling by random selection of book pages – using an Argos catalogue. It’s a fun exercise requiring some improv skills from the actor, although it feels like it sits apart from the rest of the show.
Without it, we have an intriguing, entertaining hour of exploration into one atypical person’s thoughts and memories. Argos Archives is not a biographical piece as such – its central character has been crafted by Mahfouz from workshops with Thrive Creatives, a group of young autistic women, amalgamating their experiences into one person on stage. But it’s done with a light touch that encourages us to consider, and appreciate, how different approaches to facts and memories are not to be feared or dismissed, but welcomed.
Continues until 15 March 2025
