Us / Them

Bronks promote themselves as one of Belgium's leading theatre companies aimed at young audiences. Us / Them, however, addresses decidedly mature subject matter in a manner most likely appreciated by adults.

The play's programme listing asserts that children are 'the greatest good', while terrorism stands as 'the greatest of evils'. This sentimentalised stance is likely to resonate more with audiences who can reflect upon childhood from a distance, their own sense of loss informing their sympathy for the victims of a senseless tragedy. The beautiful potential of youth is rarely apparent to anyone in the early stages of their life.

The accounts of the 2004 Beslan school siege that form the piece's narrative benefit from audiences already having a clear grasp of the incident and its context. Otherwise there's little information to be gleaned from the dialogue between its two stars, who throw themselves into their roles with aplomb.

Setting the scene by mapping out a plan of their school in chalk, the duo excel at clumsy physicality and are endearingly eager to please. When the siege itself is described, the discomfort of a poorly ventilated three days in stifling heat without food and water is evoked, moments of naïve comedy undercutting the seriousness of the episode.

Of course the point of all this is that the children cannot comprehend their ghastly plight, even as they're forced to endure it. But in times of hostility and conflict, understanding the motives on all sides is important. Ultimately, we're left feeling that humans, whether children or terrorists, and major news events are more complex than this production's polarised mentality would have us believe.