‘Lockdown’ is a short film set in a zoom room during the COVID 19 pandemic. It was filmed during the lock down. The film shows two people (Adam and Eve) meeting in a virtual space. It is an allegory of the creation story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden but in this virtual space the Tree of Knowledge is represented by the internet. Despite Eve’s warnings, Adam recommits the original sin by digesting the fruit of the forbidden tree of knowledge (and allowing the virtual paradise to be corrupted by the virus pandemic). The virtual space is ‘lorded over’ by the mysterious ‘Host’ and a chorus of voices. The film depicts a moral philosophy which draws on the tradition of medieval morality plays popular in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is an allegorical film in which the characters face the dilemma of a life in a lock down.

in May 2020 when we were forced into lockdown by the COVID 19 pandemic. The original play depicts two tribes meeting in Paradise and describes their attempts to live together. However, as in ‘Lock Down’, the ideal is destroyed when Adam eats from the Tree of Knowledge and the tribes have to build a wall to separate themselves from further conflict. The play was inspired by a short sketch by Luke Prodromou called ‘The Wall’. In this play the two protagonists build a wall between them as the only solution to avoid conflict only to find that the wall exacerbates their mutual suspicion and distrust of each other. The original play also refers to the ‘12 Rules for Life an antidote to chaos’, the number 1 best seller by Jordan B Peterson. The original play was inspired by Peterson’s depiction of the story of Adam and Eve. Peterson in his book provides twelve principles for living a meaningful life which were incorporated in the original stage play. The attempt to find meaning as a defence against suffering is also a theme of Lockdown.

The film is an adaption from the original stage play by Tom Godfrey called ‘Me and You and Jordan Peterson’ which our theatre Speech Bubbles was planning for performance The film is produced by Speech Bubbles. Speech Bubbles is a theatre group based in Istanbul. One of the aims of the group is to raise money for charities.

We hope to use the film ‘Lockdown’ to help raise funds for medical teams in hospitals in Istanbul. We are asking for donations to buy medical masks and other equipment to help medical staff in their work treating patients suffering from the COVID 19 pandemic. Donations to: http://www.speechbubbles.org