What’s a Mob to a King (Plot-twist Redemption) D: Liina Magnea(Rating: three stars out of five) This new work from Liina Magnea was an opening performance for Sophiensæle’s Never Work Festival. The theatre invited artists to explore labour in its many forms, and Magnea turned her attention to one of the most loaded professions of all: soldiering. Specifically, the performance examines the machinery of military recruitment, tracing how young men are seduced by its aesthetics, promises and myths before confronting the brutal realities that lie
beyond them. Joined onstage by two male performers, Magnea charts a trajectory from young adulthood to the frontline. The pair begin as recognisable yoots in baggy jeans, Caterpillar boots and visible Calvin Klein waistbands before gradually assuming the postures and identities of soldiers. The most compelling sections lie in this process of transformation. Rather than focusing on combat itself, Magnea is interested in the stages that precede it: aspiration, performance, identity and belonging. One particularly affecting scene sees Magnea photographing the young men as they
move through a sequence of poses. Initially playful and naive, the images gradually take on the visual language of military propaganda as casual poses harden into displays of strength. Then suddenly, a rifle enters the frame. The shift is subtle but chilling, exposing how easily masculinity, camaraderie and violence become intertwined. Yet despite the strength of its central premise, the work never quite develops a sustained dramatic arc. Instead, it unfolds as a series of connected scenes that occasionally feel more like sketches than cumulative
storytelling. Whether this fragmentation is intentional is difficult to determine, particularly as the piece frequently veers into absurdity and at times resembles a spoof military comedy. The tonal shifts are often entertaining, but they also diffuse some of the production’s emotional force. The production’s greatest asset is Magnea herself. She’s a magnetic performer with remarkable comic instincts, capable of pivoting between characters and registers in an instant. One moment, she embodies the drunken swagger of a self-important artist; the next, a domineering diplomat’s wife. Her
gift for physical comedy and satire gives the production much of its momentum, combining movement and storytelling with impressive ease. If the dramaturgy matched the precision of Magnea’s performance, this could be something exceptional. Sophiensæle, info
Liina Magnea, Never Work Festival, Sophiensæle, soldiering, military recruitment, performance, propaganda, theatre