MK Ultra is the end result of a collaborative effort between acclaimed documentarian Adam Curtis, whose works include Hypernormalisation and Bitter Lake, and dance chorerographer Rosie Kay, who earlier this year choreographed the Commonwealth Games handover. Tackling the rise of conspiracy theories amongst young people in this era of fake news, Kay realised: “Almost every conversation I had [with young people] about control and authority led to speculations about a shadowy elite that pulled the strings behind the scenes.”
It’s one of those fascinating curlicues of popular culture, one which is overlooked (one academic even told Kay it was career suicide to even consider it), but for Kay it was a challenge she took on with glee. Working with Adam Curtis, she says, does include friction, of a positive kind. “I am, by trade, someone who works in emotion, inference, fiction and imagination, whereas he is a trained journalist, so often our opinions clash about what to show on stage.”
The two settled on a finally narrative for the show, about a pop princess who is brainwashed by a shadowy elite. It’s inspired by the real-life Project MKUltra, a genuine CIA mind-control programme that was not nearly as successful as the agency hoped, but which has spawned a wealth of theories about major pop culture stars living under the influence.
“Key to this story,” Kay says, “is how the female body is treated in the pop industry. Britney Spears being the archetype that everyone knows – the Mickey Mouse Club child star-turned-sex symbol before having numerous mental breakdowns, most of them very public. But still, she gets up, continues, and the cycle goes on.
“The industry tends to favour finding stars whilst they’re young and she’s been in the business since she was a child. There’s something very disturbing about an industry that repeatedly churns out child stars and young teens marketed with innocence before being hypersexualised and re-made as ‘good girls gone bad’.” It’s unlikely that we are all controlled by a mysterious cabal of elites, but what is more likely is that this is going to be a unique and special show, well worth the price of admission. HEDI MEHREZ
MK Ultra, Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Fri 28 + Sat 29 Sept. Tickets: £16/£14. Info: 029 2064 6900 / www.shermantheatre.co.uk