The commodification of ideas

A new play examines the business world's merciless industrialisation of creativity

"We put on suits so we didn't look like outsiders, and became fluent in office slang for our latest piece, Ideas Men," says David Woods, one half of the double act Ridiculusmus. Woods and Jon Hough, the other half, started the act 13 years ago, just after leaving The Poor School, a London acting college. "The name Ridiculusmus was given to us by another drama student and comes from the description of a mouse in an Epistle of Horace." ("Mountains will heave in childbirth, and a silly little mouse will be born.")

This is the 10th production for Ridiculusmus, who have in the past been responsible for Say Nothing, about the Northern Ireland peace process, performed in a suitcase full of turf, and Yes, Yes, Yes, which explored Indian philosophy through an epic slapstick journey to find the meaning of life.

The new play is about two men in an office, under pressure to come up with "the next big thing" and takes a look at how the corporate world sets up what are, in essence, factories for creativity.

Hough and Woods researched corporate lingo and behaviour by hanging out in the City and with business students on an MBA course at the University of Kent. "Ebitda - earnings before interest taxation depreciation amortisation - is the most recent addition to my repertoire," says Woods. "Then we made up a few ourselves, such as 'icarus' (I can achieve real unparalleled success)."

But what provided them with much comical material was a Unilever weekend workshop in which they were asked to participate, entitled "Creative Courage". "The whole day was sickly and sentimental. It coincided with an awards ceremony for the most successful advertising campaigns," says Woods who, with Hough, performed some material about pitching a radio show, which was seen at the Edinburgh Festival this summer. "We had to perform three times to different departments - to inspire them. These tokenistic gestures, which are offered by many companies, are not about creativity. They're about money and how to make their staff feel better so they'll stay in their jobs."

Ideas Men works on several different levels. The first is concerned with the ownership of ideas, and the two characters participate in role-play, a technique much practised in the corporate world. The second layer reveals its two characters in the real world, sick to death of these games and in desperate need of some real inspiration. "They are frazzled, overworked, dried up," says Woods.

The third layer is personal, as the real Woods and Hough expose what creativity means to them. "We have to battle against the Hollywood trend of conventional plot, and be experimental," says Woods. "People often hate us, because they have to work stuff out for themselves." But the set has a glossy and slick look. "Usually we get our props off a skip because we are skint. This time we have real carpet, and a big desk with gadgets and an ideas pod." Ideas Men may just fill the hole left by the departure of The Office from our television screens.

'Ideas Men', Barbican Pit, London EC2 (0845-120 7550) tomorrow to 25 October