"Occupy!" The Broadway show comes to the UK.

Summer comes to an end, pitifully hanging on in that first week of October, and with it, all my theatre dates. But no, one show remains. Only recently announced, with free tickets and no need to book, the much talked about, - infamous, even - Occupy! has come to London.

With big names on the bill at Occupy Wall Street, such as Slavoj Zizek, Naomi Klein, and Joseph Stiglitz - and Michael Moore giving an early review of the show - hopes for further successes are high as Occupy! goes global. Indeed, sharing credit with the ongoing Indignants, which debuted in Spain in May, the influence has now spread to 951 cities in 82 countries. It's a sell-out show, with plenty more tickets. On Saturday 15th October, the curtain at London was raised...

I came in during act 1, and the cast were caught in a solemn moment of hesitance. The police had blocked all entry to Paternoster Square, where the London Stock Exchange is based - a tellingly private piece of London land, owned by Mitsubishi. A disappointment clung to the air, I sensed, as those turned away from the Stock Exchange found refuge on the steps of St. Paul's, and police predictably surrounded them, intimidating those outside who might like to go in.

As we circled the epicenter, drifting down the various streets nearby until coming up against another police blockade, we were treated to a few musical numbers. "Who's street? Our Street!" is a sing-along classic, and was beautifully choreographed under the St. Paul's backdrop. A curious juxtaposition was exercised between the cast's harmonies and the cold "MOVE BACK!" authoritatively commanded by those with batons and pale blue hats.

Back at the front, where the mood had lulled, emotionless characters stood side by side, looking over the police line to the central cast, looking in hope for some kind of sign. Act one was taking an unusual route - anger had subsided, territories had been established, no one really knew what to do. Would the media take notice if the day lacks violence? What will have the bigger legacy - the London riots or Occupy London? Occasionally, a slow spiraling bellow would circulate amongst the crowd, expanding and then dying out. Something was needed to keep the audience's attention - if not a media frenzy, then perhaps understanding, solidarity and optimism.

Another curious contradiction was explored through the inside/outside opposition that ran along the police line. Those outside, as I was, were free, whereas those inside were trapped. Not simply because of the police - at this time people could go in an out from either side, providing they go through the correct checkpoints. No, what I mean is, those outside were freer agents of expression and choice. Take the two photos above, for example. The one on top, from outside the central zone, a fabric hung on an HSBC bank. No police surrounding this bank, they're all surrounding the Stock Exchange and those in front of St. Paul's. Whereas, in the photo underneath, from inside the zone, a queue outside Starbucks of post-Soviet Union proportions. This is more than just a clever use of irony. Here we at once exploring the cliché of those who attend such events - middle-class Foucault-reading coffee-drinkers, whilst highlighting the increasing practical dependency we have on the capitalist institution, combined with a growing sense of capitalist realism, as Mark Fisher would put it. Are we saying, "Capitalism's here to stay, so let's tolerate Starbucks (and with that, McDonald's, Coke, Nike, Philip Green, Vodafone, etc.) and only focus on finance"...?

It's not an easy one to call, that one. But this seemingly lack of political coherence is perhaps one of the strong points of the show. Answers are not simple. Only politicians think they are: raise university fees = more money, so goes government logic. Ideas, demands, projections, alternatives, all are complex. A coherent non-capitalist alternative is not likely to be presented by the end of this day. Just because Occupy! doesn't have an "...ism" doesn't mean it is to be ignored. That which unites is simply growing inequality and unfairness, and that which it revolves around is an economy which relies on, is indeed blackmailed by, a global financial discourse which sustains said inequality and unfairness.

Act 2 began, we passed through the checkpoint, into the zone. I had not realised that this was not only immersive but participatory theatre. The sun beat down and people relaxed, erected tents, meditated, read books, yelled slogans. Time for another song - "This is what democracy looks like!" I'm less keen on that one. Good tune, but I'm uncomfortable with the message. Where's our target? Have we moved on now from capitalism, through finance, to democracy? Indeed, this is what Western democracy looks like - to protest under specific constraints, and then pop off to Starbucks for a FrappaZappa and to use their crapper. Occasionally one character will be centre stage, lost in a rambling soliloquy, maintaining that the camp is an example of how to live outside capitalism; that this, dear friends, is the model for our new economic order. It's hardly a Badiouian event. Hold on, the Zeitgeist movement are prowling, recruiting, with their conspiracy theories and 'resource economy' alternatives. This is a place of many voices, I see, some more idiotic than others, but all important ingredients. It's like fish sauce - terrible on its own, but brilliant when almost completely drowned out by other things.

Indeed, globally, the power of this outcry lies in that rhizomatic lack of centre, whilst attacking a very specific centre, ultimately - Wall Street - the financial centre of the world; from which another sinister web takes leave - the global exchange of capital. All the Occupy!s, wherever in the world, also occupy Wall Street, with those who are physically there. Not just 'in solidarity', but through the airwaves in which capital flows, through that which connects all financial centres in all capitalist countries. It is no more than a node in a global network that is growing, and applying pressure to a gradually crippling system. We need not be disheartened if the show lacks coherence at the moment, or if it lacks an answer to the problem, for it is still in the making - you don't throw a pie before it's baked.

After an intermission we returned. The lights had gone down and it was cooler. A wheelbarrow of sorts appeared behind me, pushed by a girl. She bore gifts of ciabattas and fruit for the hungry characters within. It was a struggle to get them past the bemused police officers. "Why do you want to go in there," came the question. Rhetorical, of course. The first night of a projected many was at hand, and those on the front line need more stuff - tables, blankets, food, but mostly, people. At present, Occupy! is a performance that shows promise, that could become something special if it continues to run. But it could equally wane as the winter deepens and people stay indoors instead of going to the theatre. For now, what's needed is some more dynamism - not too much so to as exclude the nice people, but enough to draw in the audience. Carefully choreographed scenes of strategic intervention: bank sit-ins, rowdy day-trips around the city, reputable speakers, street parties, general civil disobedience.

http://occupylondon.org.uk/