''You Me Bum Bum Train'' was an

Interactive theatre Interactive theatre is a presentational or theatrical form or work that breaks the "fourth wall" that traditionally separates the performer from the audience both physically and verbally. In traditional theatre, performance is limited to a desig ...

performance devised by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd in 2004. The pair met as art students in Brighton, where they were studying illustration and film. ''You Me Bum Bum Train'' gained critical acclaim in the United Kingdom when it was awarded the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust prize while showing in a disused office in London. In 2010 it won the

Evening Standard Theatre Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

for outstanding newcomer. It returned in 2012 in a former postal depot in

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

, and a new version of the show – at Empire House in Stratford, east London in 2012 – was nominated for an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. In 2015 the show was mounted again, this time in at what had been

Foyles W & G Foyle Ltd. (usually called simply Foyles) is a bookseller with a chain of seven stores in England. It is best known for its flagship store in Charing Cross Road, London. Foyles was once listed in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as the ...

bookshop on London's

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction of ...

where their last show, started on 25 February 2016, finished on 29 April.

Overview

Visitors to the performance pass through a series of scenes of which they have no foreknowledge, in which they are either passive or where they must improvise a part without any preparation. Hanna Hanra, writing for ''Vice'', described it as a series of "highly detailed, absurd real life scenarios following one another on a nonsense high-paced narrative". The entertainment magazine '' Dazed & Confused'' reported; "What was one of London's more obtuse treasures is set to become one of Great Britain's proudest moments." ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' said; "It leaves you questioning everything, and it's lots of fun." Time Out magazine wrote; "My highlight of 2008 was You Me Bum Bum Train, if only real life were that interesting."

Controversies

''You Me Bum Bum Train'' has provoked controversy due to the fact that none of the performers gets paid, though the directors stress that performers and crew are involved on a voluntary basis, that many are not trained professionals and that they are under no obligation to stay during performances. The company was criticized for its ticketing system which caused problems for ticket buyers in June 2015. In November 2015 the trade union Equity criticised their £150,000 Arts Council England funding as YMBBT were advertising for professional dancers but were not paying them, despite selling tickets "at rates typical of a West End show." In June 2016 the trade union BECTU criticised YMBBT for "exploiting workers after advertising for unpaid production interns." BECTU launched an investigation concerning "the legality of the “outrageous” internships, which would see successful applicants work at least two days each week for a minimum four hours each day."
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References

Theatre in the United Kingdom Postmodern theatre Fringe theatre Amateur theatre 2004 plays Organized events British plays

External links

{{Official website