Writers: Thora Pedersen and Desiré Mangaard
Director: Desiré Mangaard
The future isn’t a pleasant time to be in… well not according to When The Time Comes… Following the outbreak of covid in 2020, the planet is beset by hoards of other viruses which in turn impact and destroy most of the animal life. Our disregard for nature results in a near-perpetual swing from extreme cold to extreme heat, destructive fires and restorative floods. Despite this, humans continue to pollute and destroy.
However, a small group of people, calling themselves the Chosen Ones, have found one area untouched by this, Denmark, and set up an enclosed city they call Olympic. Within it is clean air and water, ample food and drink, and all things we’d expect in a modern life. Outside, the rest of the population, renamed as The Rats, barely survive. The water and air are polluted and there’s hardly any food.
The start of When The Time Comes… sets a scene of extreme imbalance between two groups – the Chosen Ones and the Rats. Heading up the Chosen Ones is the goddess Athena (Thora Pedersen) who is keen for her daughter Juliet (Mikka Deleuran) to marry and produce children. However, in a chance meeting with the Rat Romeo (Sune Ratleff), who has been bought in as a sex worker to please one of the Chosen Ones, Juliette finds the world around her unravelling. Not only does she experience the sort of love she has only read about, but in her burgeoning relationship with Romeo she becomes truly aware of the differences between life in and out of The Olympic.
When The Time Comes… covers a lot of territory: the environment, social inequality, segregation, race, love, and duty. It’s pitched very much like a Greek tragedy, with players also taking on the choral role of forwarding and explaining the narrative. What starts as an extreme warning on the perils of modern human life, rapidly turns into a love story that riffs on the original Romeo and Juliet to play out the potential of this Romeo and Juliet.
Whilst there’s great enthusiasm from the ensemble cast the production is disjointed and ultimately disappointing. The transition from the environmental set-up to a post-apocalyptic love story feels heavily manipulated and, in light of the doomsday beginning, a rather frivolous focal point. The comedy falls between juvenile and two-dimensional. It raises a few chuckles but barely more than that.
Running at little over 75 minutes, there’s no time for any of the narratives to evolve or properly engage the audience. The characters are overblown and the dialogue is just a bit too contrived, but you get the feeling that with more time, these could be addressed and the weightier topics covered can be given a more effective voice.
When The Time Comes… is an interesting production from a young team with a lot to say. It’s a flawed attempt at covering some important topics. It tries a lot, and tries a bit too hard. but without trying, you never get anywhere.
Runs until 10 February 2024
