Goats

In a small town in Syria, soldiers are celebrated as heroes and grieving families are nourished on propaganda. As the coffins pile up, the local party leader decides on a radical compensation scheme: goats for each son martyred.

Goats is a major new work by Syrian playwright and documentary filmmaker Liwaa Yazji exploring the lies we choose to believe as a society, and the rippling effect when one man questions the ‘truth’.

“Fake news permeates the whole production like hyperchromatic cloud infecting everyone who breathes it.” – Exeunt

Ian Galloway designed video for the production, working with numerous cameras, overt and hidden, to recreate the feel of state-controlled information and TV throughout the piece. A live news crew was coached through rehearsals, a mock crowd added behind speaking actors, and a special wireless GoatCam built and attached to the collars of the titular goats. Given that the equipment required was quite specialised, Mesmer built and supplied all camera and playback equipment on the show.

“Yazji says that Goats is a ‘Syrian take on fake news’, it’s brought to life on stage with the unreal quality of a video-game: exaggerated sentimentality, humour and anger play out in a pop-world setting.” – Culture Whisper

Client:
Royal Court Theatre

Location:
Royal Court Theatre, London, 2018

Services:
Video & Projection Design
Content Creation
Equipment Hire

Team:
Video Designer: Ian William Galloway
Systems Designer: Salvador Bettencourt Ávila

Production Credits:
Director: Hamish Pirie
Set and Costume Designer: Rosie Elnile
Lighting Designer: Muaz Al Jubeh
Sound Designer: Tom Gibbons

Photos:
© Johan Persson