Self-described “Theatrical Sabboteurs”, the UK and Melbourne-based Doppelganster return to Sydney to make merrie in this maddening, challenging and wholly idiosyncratic exercise inspired by the years 1138-53, when Olde Englande, riven by succession issues, dissolved into decades of rebellion and blood feuding.

For a non-stop two hours and 15 minutes, performer-auteurs (and siblings) Tobias Manderson-Galvin and Kerith Manderson-Galvin hold the space, delivering text and action over intermittent tracks of gothic grind, while playing fast and loose with the fourth wall and pointedly failing to deliver everything promised in the press release (jousting, flying arrows, siege towers, etc).

Kerith Manderson-Galvin and Tobias Manderson-Galvin. Photo © TNS Studios

Much of the spoken component of the show is derived from a text resembling some ultra-pedantic walkthrough of an open world fantasy video game, complete with every optional twist and turn. This is fed to the performers through earpieces, which the performers then speak out loud.

The “headphone verbatim” technique isn’t a new idea (director Roslyn Oades pioneered its use in Australian theatre to great effect in the 2000s), but the Manderson-Galvins put their own chaotic spin on it, frequently digressing while attempting to keep...