Bassett Theatre – Intimate, Ambitious and Unafraid to Ask the Big Questions
Bassett Theatre is an independent London-based company, creating original, pop-up theatre with a distinctly communal feel. Specialising in drama, solo performance and new writing, their work is ambitious, intimate, and unafraid to tackle the difficult questions of identity, belonging and the true cost of being human.
Their latest production, An Act(Or?), written and performed by Andreas Robichaux, is a bold and inventive one-person show: one actor, nine robot identities, and absolutely no certainty.
Set inside a real living room, the piece dissolves the boundary between performer and audience, drawing you directly into its world. From the outset, there’s a sense that anything could happen (and often does).
The show opens with a Bob Dylan-esque acoustic number, as Dre, our restless actor, waits for the call every performer dreams of: the one that will give their career purpose, validation, meaning. “Actors, at our core, are like identity thieves”, he muses. An insight that lands with both humour and quiet truth. When he jokes, “I would do a one-man show at this point”, it earns a knowing laugh before the audience realises that’s exactly what they’re watching.
As he waits, his thoughts spiral. What if he isn’t just an actor? What if he’s a robot? And if so, what kind would he be?
Blending Shakespearean monologues with Taylor Swift conspiracy theories and a series of increasingly questionable life choices, An Act(Or?) becomes a playful yet probing exploration of identity.
Beneath the humour lies a question that will feel painfully familiar to many: what kind of human am I, really?
The story unfolds through different possible selves, from Supervillain to Trickster, Lover and even Pinocchio – each offering a different lens on performance, authenticity, and selfhood. The result is a theatrical hybrid: part stand-up comedy, part confessional drama, part self-help seminar gone gloriously off the rails.
Honest, funny, and unexpectedly moving, Bassett Theatre’s work lives at the intersection of autobiography and invention, comedy and grief, the deeply personal and the universally felt. This is not safe theatre and that’s exactly the point.
Based at 1 Bassett Road, London W10, the company continues to produce and tour original work across fringe venues, studio spaces, and unconventional locations throughout the UK. Visit https://bassetttheatre.co.uk/ for more.
West End Wilma
