TOO MUCH LIGHT MAKES THE BABY GO BLIND (30 PLAYS IN 60 MINUTES)

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https://www.losttheatreco.com/copy-of-kill-your-co-star

Date Reviewed: 26/07/2026

The cast of Lost Theatre Co. are scattered around the space in black T-shirts bearing their real first names, Joshua, Lilian, Jacob, Kaia, Noah and Lisa — greeting audience members as though we have wandered into a house party. We are handed a lanyard, a red/green card and a menu of thirty short plays. The lights stay up. The actors gather us in. And almost immediately, we are playing.

There is no polite settling-in period with Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. The premise is brilliantly simple: thirty plays in sixty minutes. The audience calls out a number, the cast launches into the corresponding piece, and then it is straight on to the next. If the clock runs out halfway through a scene, so be it. Game over.

What follows is gloriously chaotic, frequently hilarious and, at times, surprisingly moving.

Having seen the production twice during the week, it was striking how differently the experience could unfold. The second night was particularly sharp, with the ensemble firing on all cylinders and navigating the rapid-fire format with impressive precision. Joshua Bruce and Kaia Reyes were standout performers, bringing terrific energy, assured comic timing and a genuine sense of spontaneity to the controlled chaos.

By the final night, there was more fatigue in the room and the cast appeared slightly rattled. Yet that rougher edge arguably suited the production. This is theatre built around uncertainty, and a degree of mess is not a flaw; it is part of the magic.

The ensemble are unquestionably the engine of the show. Their chemistry is infectious, while their commitment creates the convincing illusion that we are watching actors spontaneously mucking around rather than executing something meticulously rehearsed. Beneath the silliness are clever monologues, absurd little gems, sharp observations and moments that genuinely invite reflection. Not every play hits the mark, but the format rarely gives you time to dwell on the misses.

The stripped-back staging reinforces the concept beautifully. Minimal costumes, scattered props and a relentlessly ticking timer leave nowhere to hide behind theatrical convention. We are constantly reminded that this is happening now — and that our choices matter.

Audience interaction is handled particularly well. The red/green cards establish clear boundaries, while content warnings and instructions make the rules easy to understand. During one performance, an audience member flipped their card mid-interaction, and the actors immediately respected the boundary and moved on. It was a small but important demonstration that participation and consent can comfortably coexist within the production’s deliberately anarchic framework.

The only real drawback came on the final night, when some audience members seemed to forget that participation still requires consideration. Chatter and occasional clomping around became distracting. Being part of the show is fun; forgetting that others are trying to watch it or perform it is another matter.

Still, the unpredictability is the production’s greatest strength. Different audience choices create different plays, interactions and energy from one performance to the next. I came tantalisingly close to seeing all thirty pieces completed before the clock ran out, but even an unfinished game feels oddly satisfying.

Because Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind is not really about winning, it is about throwing yourself into the game.

Thirty plays. Sixty minutes. Two very different performances. Plenty of laughs, a few raised eyebrows, some genuinely thoughtful moments — and standout work from Josh and Kaia that helps make the chaos sing.

For audiences who like their theatre fast, funny, unpredictable and a little bit unhinged, this is a production well worth playing along with.

Reviewed by Vivien Lynch