I visited The Country, went to Hell's Half Acre and ended up at T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T.

This post is a little late as I've been very busy being lazy and procrastinating so now I've had to catch up on school work. Sometimes I forget that I'm in London to get my masters, not to just see shows.

Last week Monday two of my classmates and I saw The Country by Martin Crimp playing at the Arcola Theatre in Hackney. It went off to a smashing start as Joe and I got lost - thankfully I was able to call Jane and have her give us directions. Then we sped-walked to the theatre.

The Arcola is a wonderful space. As we walked into the theatre there were trees and pebbles all over the floor; the seating set up in the round. As we walked in, I said to my friends, "I like this already." Set up in the round the design is both simplistic and infused with symbolism. Anna Bliss Scully’s design with it's deteriorating layers of wood flooring, a stove, telephone, bench, and table an chair - and the trees surrounding the audience, magnifies the isolation of the country.

The play chronicles the relationship of Richard, a doctor, and his wife Corinne after he brings home a strange woman, Rebecca, whom he claims to have found passed out on the side of the road. Crimp's use of language is evocative and eerily unsettling. It took me some time to settle in to the repetitive and quizzical dialogue - but once I did, I was absolutely transfixed. That is until the character Rebecca comes out. Crimp has written the character as an American (why, I don't know) and I have to say that the accent was terrible. I took me completely out of the experience. Although Naomi Wattis had great characterization and physicalization - and it was apparent she understood the text - her accent was quite baffling. That being said, overall I found the production to be well done with Amelia Nicholson's to-the-point direction and smart staging. Simon Thorp as the doctor with too many secrets does especially well portraying a man struggling to keep control and has pitch-perfect black-comedic timing. Amanda Root, however, shines as the exasperated, albeit controlled, wife. Her big eyes somehow manage to simultaneously hide and reveal everything.

This being my first exposure to Crimp - I'd love to read and see more of his work.

Here's a teaser trailor of the play:



Friday night I went to see an art installation called Hell's Half Acre in the Old Vic Tunnels by Lazarides galleries with my fellow American, Rachel. The installation is based on Dante's Inferno. There were some wickedly awesome paintings, sculptures, videos and photos.

Here are some pics:

Sunday I saw T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T.  by the Polish company TR Warszawa at the Barbican. This stunning production inspired by Italian poet, writer and activist Pier Paolo Pasolini and his film Teorema is grippingly absurd as it depicts five family members and their sexual interaction with a young man who comes to stay with them. Although there were points where I was wondering what the hell was happening, the visual styling and sensual acting were superb. The play begins with the patriarch at center stage behind a desk who is questioned by members of the audience. The last question being, "Do you believe in God?" His reply, "I don't understand the question."

Then the style and pace changes dramatically. The large stage is fully utilized as each member occupies their given space. The patriarch at his desk, working; the mother at her boudoir delecatley putting on her makes up; the son and daughter the the mirror getting ready for the day; and the maid going about her duties. The daily routine is played slowly and deliberately - and they do variations of this three times. The rest of the scenes pick up the pace with the introduction of the stranger who seduces each member and then departs just a quickly as he arrived.

Superbly acted, along with a viscerally stunning score, this experimental mode of story telling makes me long to see more work by this evocative company.