Know No Cure
written and directed by Adam Broinowski
performed by Matt Crosby and Majid Shokor
Lighting Design by John Dutton
Sound by Jeff Hannam
Set Design by Adam Gardnir
Video Design by Nazim Esa
at Theatreworks until July 1
Wednesday to Saturday at 8pm
Sundays at 5pm
$25/$20 concession
It is always heartening to see theatre-makers taking risks, and Know No Cure is that most difficult of projects - a short-form, high concept work that seeks to rigorously interrogate the malaise of contemporary society without being didactic. It is essentially a parable; a man, Cyber (Matt Crosby), is undergoing an operation to repair the hole in his heart. As the operation fails, he enters an undefined, limitless space outside of time, met by Putra (Majid Shokor), the gatekeeper of vision and the secrets of faith. It is Putra who apparently holds the keys of Jaya, an Islamic conception that parallels utopia.
Utopia, of course, is the ultimate no-place, and as befits its metaphysical fluency these are not characters in the pure sense; they are ciphers, exploiting many of the pertinent dichotomies that seem to keep humanity embroiled in perpetual conflict, inner and outer. Superficially, they are Muslim and non-Muslim. Archetypally, they are seeker and guru, king and jester, surgeon and patient, yin and yang, the two lovers, and master and slave. Their discourse is surreal and cerebral, like a collision of Tzara and William Gibson. It is any wonder that some may have trouble surrendering to their dance through the seven veils. This article continues, click here to read on…
Transformers: The Animated Movie (Special Edition)
Cannily timed to coincide with the big-screen release of Michael Bay’s massively hyped (and possibly quite good) live-action Transformers comes this two disc special edition of the 80’s classic, Transformers: The Movie.
This release features a remastered widescreen edition plus a host of extras, and for the fan is a must have. The movie revolves around the Autobots seeking to recapture their home planet of Cybertron from the evil Decepticons. Unbeknownst to the warring parties, an even greater threat approaches the site of their conflict - Unicron, an ancient, planet-devouring robot bent on destruction.Â
Besides the awful soundtrack, the film holds up quite well for its age. The animation isn’t the most sophisticated you’ll see, but the voice-acting is generally excellent - as it should be, featuring talents such as Eric Idle, Leonard Nimoy, and the towering Orson Welles as Unicron. The plot will confuse those not familiar
with the saga, but for those in the know this release will pack more
punch than a twenty-foot robot, and is essential viewing.
Â
West Giveaway Still On!
Just a reminder to all that there are still double passes to be won for the new Australian drama West. They’re valid Fri 6 July to Thu 12 July (Mon to Fri). West opens July 5 at the George and Westgarth cinemas in Melbourne. Just email us your name, mobile number and postal address to comps “at†vcasu.org.au and go into the draw.
From July 5 WEST will be screening at the following national locations:
NSW - Chauvel Cinema, Paddington, Greater Union Cinema, George Street, Sydney City, Dendy Cinema, King Street, Newtown.
ACT - Dendy Canberra Centre, Bunda Street, Canberra City.
VIC - The George Cinema, St Kilda, Westgarth Cinemas, Northcote
SA - Palace Nova East End Cinemas, Rundle Street, Adelaide
WA - WEST will screen as part of the Festival of Perth in January 2008.
Warriors of Art
Warriors of Art: A Guide to Contemporary Japanese Artists
by Yumi Yamaguch
published by Kodansha International, distributed by Bookwise International
RRP $49.95
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this elegantly presented survey is that much of the artwork seems startlingly familiar. Certainly part of this familiarity might come about through the Yankeephile integration of Western tropes into Japanese life but it is notable, nevertheless, how pervasive an impact contemporary Japanese aesthetics have had on our popular culture. From Astro Boy to the Mario Brothers, from Hello Kitty to yamato-e, the markers of Japanese style have become globalised and commodified — and thus, sadly, sometimes made quotidian to the point of dullness.
This book, if nothing else, can inspire new reflections on just this dilemma. How can Japanese artists continue to work in styles that have been so objectionably hijacked and exploited by consumerism? Of course, some dodge the quandary by taking their own idiosyncratic path but, as this book attests, most choose to tackle the matter head on.
Takashi Murakami is probably the most famed of the artists on display. His delightful fancies look like Walt Disney had a big weekend with some Japanese dadaists. More accurately, his meticulously detailed and highly complex works take manga and anime and churn them into high art. He also designed the multi-coloured patterning on Louis Vuitton bags, which is either the most inspired cross-promotion since Warhol’s soup cans or a grievous error of judgment for both parties. Murakami writes with fervour of the superflat culture of Japan — the facile and hollow imagery of materialism — and his artwork, it seems, works to further flatten, with ironic glee, the icons of manga that so pervade.
Taking a stab at the pornographic arm of manga, known as hentai in the West, are artists Makato Aida and Mahomi Kunikata, who draw on two of the extremes of the genre: sadomasochism and pedophilia, respectively. Kunikata’s deliberately naive pictures of self-abusing school girls is both an indictment of lurid eroticism and a disarmingly affecting work of empathy for the clearly confused subjects. Kunikata also added her faux-porn to pieces of sushi, creating small pieces of indigestible sexploitation out of raw fish.
There are forty artists represented in Warriors of Art. Each one allowed several examples of their work and provided with a concise blurb by the author. Though hardly an exhaustive tome, it offers a tantalising glimpse at the best new artists to come out of Japan in the last few years. Whet your appetite.
Michael Moore: A Biography
by Emily Schultz
published by vision paperbacks
RRP $29.95
288 pages
Michael Moore, while not the finest or most accomplished documentary director around, is arguably the most contentious and, by extension, the most influential. This is the man, after all, who effectively created the genre of ‘blockbuster documentary’. In recent years, however, his films have come under increasing scrutiny as reports about ‘creative’ editing and outright fabrications began widely circulating, bringing his work into some measure of disrepute for tarnishing the integrity of his chosen medium - a medium which does rely, ultimately, on its fidelity to the facts. Emily Schultz, a Canadian poet and novelist, has ventured into the discussion that continues to blaze around Moore with her first non-fiction work, Michael Moore: A Biography.
Schultz adopts the standard chronological approach that is the ready template of biography, tracing the development of Moore’s political worldview from its roots in working-class Michigan to the full-scale electoral intervention intended with his divisive magnum opus Farenheit 9/11. She interviews friends and former associates of Moore and does a good job of laying down the bare outline of his early life and career, including a fantastic account of Moore’s brief but memorable stint at the radical countercultural journal Mother Jones. Moore is revealed as a compassionate figure determined to generate genuine social change and leave an impression on the world, but one who in seeking this end justifies means that alienates many of those around him.
Unfortunately, Schultz lacks the experience of research and rigour to do more than string together a somewhat perfunctory agglomerate of clippings and previously published interviews. The interviews she has managed to secure for the book are solid but repetitive reiterations of Moore’s virtues and vices, though some wonderful anecdotes are shared by figures involved with his TV productions TV Nation and The Awful Truth. Not having Moore’s co-operation however has resulted in Michael Moore: A Biography seeming a little uneven, with the book feeling the lack of fresh interviews with its subject, and its vocabulary at times seems confusing (the term ‘lefty critic’ seems contextually inappropriate in a work such as this yet is used repeatedly). Multiple uses of the phrase ‘diffuse the situation’ also come across as sloppy proof though this fault may be laid at the editor’s feet rather than the author’s.
Michael Moore: A Biography is a solid attempt by Schultz at investigating the life and work of Moore, but really is little more than a primer for a much more deeply researched and considered investigation, sure to come in time, of this man who stands at the nexus of politics, celebrity, culture, and truth.
Melbourne International Film Festival Launch
This year, the Melbourne International Film Festival (or MIFF, for those in the know) celebrates its 56th year; making it, in the words of Clare Dobbin, Chair of the MIFF board, ‘only four years younger than Cannes’. Indeed, MIFF is one of the oldest film festivals in the world, and if the line-up announced at last night’s launch is anything to go by, it just keeps going from strength to strength.
Toff in Town on Collins St was the venue for the festival’s 2007 launch, a cozy affair made cozier by the poorly designed nature of the bar. After brief introductions from Clare Dobbin and Lord Mayor John So, it was over to the newly appointed Director of the festival, Richard Moore, to reveal the line-up in detail.  A half-hour presentation of clips only served to whet our appetite for the 2007 program.
This article continues, click here to read on…
Enlightenment
Enlightenment
by Shelagh Stephenson
Melbourne Theatre Company
Cast Includes Nicholas Bell, Caroline Brazier, Grant Cartwright, Beverley Dunn, Lewis Fiander, Sarah Peirse
Directed by Julian Meyrick
Set Designer Ralph Myers
Costume Designer Miranda Flinn
Lighting Designer Paul Jackson
Composer Tim Dargaville
Fairfax Studio, The Arts Centre
8 June to 21 July 2007
Shelagh Stephenson is a playwright unafraid of treating her audience to the darker recesses of the soul. Enlightenment is in large part a searing deconstruction of what can be known and what can be predicted, revealing the minute, unknowable and unforeseeable elements of human behaviour and circumstance that can upset the balance of a contented life. At the centre of the play is a couple whose son has recently gone missing while travelling overseas. The couple, Lia (Sarah Pierse) and Nick (Nicholas Bell) are middle class, intellectual and comfortable in every possible except that they aren’t comfortable at all. The loss of their son, Adam, has swallowed their lives—the uncertainty of his whereabouts and of his being alive has left them untethered and bereft. Nicholas seeks consolation in the endorphins of exercise, or is he perhaps running himself faint as penitence. Lia finds herself reaching out for Adam through any means possibl, including drawing on the help of the “sensitive” (or “psychic”) Joyce (Beverley Dunn). The first half of the play seems to be heading in the direction of a domestic examination of grief, or loss. However, the second half entirely breaks down the genre of drawing room ennui (cleverly echoed in Ralph Myers’ design) and the play becomes a taut and engaging psychological game of cat and mouse where the bounds of character and narrative reliability become increasingly blurred. The agent provocateur in all this is the ever-excellent Grant Cartwright, whose arrival at the end of the first half unravels the structure that precedes it and opens the stage to a whole host of possibilities. The cast is generally strong, with Beverley Dunn providing enough acerbic wit to make the sentimental side of the psychic character palatable. Sarah Pierse is witheringly effective as Lia and Nicholas Bell humanises the rational-at-all-costs Nick brilliantly. A surprisingly thrilling night at the theatre and one that gets darker and more mysterious every minute.
Grassroots
Attending an online college can be one way to help save money on getting yourself a degree considering the fact that if you go to an online university you won’t need to do any driving to attend classes. Through online colleges you can do more than just get credits; in some fields you can get a whole online bachelor degree from home.
Melbourne Jazz Festival
On the first Saturday of the Melbourne Jazz Festival ‘07 saw two of Australia’s leading jazz musicians Joe Chindamo and Graeme Lyall, play at BMW Edge at Federation Square. From the outset, there was a strong contrast between Joe’s showmanship and Graeme’s dry wit, but both of their tones are beautiful and warm. Their interpretation of the standard All of Me, starting with a freely interpreted rendition before launching into solos heavy with groove, displayed their responsiveness and depth of harmony and melody. The casual amicability of these two players left the audience with the impression of sitting in on a rainy Saturday rehearsal in one of their living rooms. This was further reinforced when towards the end, Lyall requested from Chindamo to play one of his recently composed pieces, Lyall then played the role of page turner, standing behind the piano stool and listening as intently as us. Lyall’s expressions throughout the afternoon ranged from deeply appreciative to bemusedly tolerant, and it was a highly enjoyable relaxed afternoon out.
That afternoon, American innovative vibraphonist Gary Burton gave a master class in which he talked about the
limitations of his instrument, given that all that can be done to make the sounds is to strike with a mallet, and the importance of telling a story in improvisation coupled with the careful use of dynamics to eke out maximum expression. Master classes often are disappointing – how can the lecturer hope to impart something meaningful to everyone present, who are at very different development levels, but the fun is in seeing a master up close and playing and talking about their instrument one on one.
The highlight of the festival for me was the Yamandu Costa Trio, who performed at Hamer Hall on the final Friday evening of the festival as a replacement for the injured Bireli Lagrene, opening for the McCoy Tyner Trio. The interaction between the three musicians was inspiring, and the music defied definition. Yamunda has a generous, amusing and open face, always looking around, sharing the joke with the musicians on stage or a secret wink between him and the audiences. The acoustic instruments were extensions of the musicians’ bodies, with all the possible sounds fully utilised, whether they were being plucked, hit or bowed. The music was always a journey, in their separate improvisations and in 
the compositions as a whole. A journey like life with crazy ups and downs. n astonishing use of dynamics. At one stage Yamandu Costa got up from his seat and was face to face with the bass player, dancing and singing, egging the bassist on in playfulness, and next he was up with the violinist, playing a game and trading stabs. It was very refreshing to see music being such an obvious conduit for pure expression. As Costa himself said, at a workshop at V.C.A, “it’s not about the guitar!” The only grievance I had was that given the venue, we couldn’t get up and dance, and have a drink, such was the festive feel. This music should be played in the street, and the sterile confinements of Hamer Hall did not do the concert justice.
Hamer Hall in fact caused a few problems in concerts, and something must be done before more international artists are booked. The sound quality across the audience is very patchy. In Corea’s and Hancock’s gigs and especially McCoy Tyner, the acoustic piano was just not mixed well enough.
Because of the prominence of Tyner’s left hand in his playing, the overall sound came across as muffled and muddy. Coupled with the blistering tempos of all the tunes played, and Dave Liebmans’s copious amount of notes, I will admit I tuned out at times. However, the historical of significance of this man cannot be ignored, and it was exciting to see Tyner live, who has shared the stage with greats such as Coltrane and recorded such classics as A Love Supreme.
The final concert I viewed was the Joe Chindamo and Paul Grabowsky dual piano bill. It opened with a Grabowsky composition, and right from the outset we knew this was to be a special concert. Waves of sound met the audience, sparkling shimmers of keys transported the listener to another place, the composition itself film-like and atmospheric. In The Manic Impressive, a bluesy Chindamo composition, they swung hard, trading lines and mimicking each other. An odd chemistry occurred a couple of times at the ends of tunes, with each pianist wanting to have the last say. A flourish up high? No, a resonant bass note. Another flourish up high! Two pounding bass notes etc. But as Joe Chindamo said to us, “So far so good!” What we were witnessing here was no novelty act of two pianos, but instead two consummate musicians performing together for the first time. There was a sense of significance about this meeting and a collective appreciative feeling was shared by the audience. The two distinct styles of piano playing worked surprisingly well together, Chindamo who was a completely passive character playing in contrast with Grabowsky who pulled some
incredible facial expressions, but whose playing is a little less flashy. April was another highlight, with a beautiful melody in free time played in octaves in unison by the two, demonstrating the unity achieved by the players. It was enjoyable to hear one idea originating from one pianist and echoed, or more often developed, underneath the next phrase by the other. It was exciting to be present, watching the two artists, as Joe Chindamo put it, “being confronted with a wall of harmonic invention and responding, and hopefully contributing.” Contribute they both did, and this reviewer was honoured to be there.
Last Train to Freo DVD release
Directed by Jeremy Sims
Porkchop Productions and Taylor Media
distributed by madman.com.au
RRP: $34.95
After a brief run in cinemas last year, Jeremy Sims’ debut as a film director, Last Train to Freo, has been released on DVD thanks to Madman Entertainment. Adapted by Reg Cribb from his own theatre script The Return, the film is set in a late-night carriage on the Midland to Fremantle line and follows two small-time crooks (Steve Le Marquand and Tom Budge) as they head into the city to kill their boredom. When a pretty young law student (Gigi Edgley) boards, the trip threatens to take a very different direction.
This is a very tight film. The writing, while explicitly theatrical (as too is the performance of Le Marquand as the Tall Thug), is engaging and the psychological suspense is solidly built. The direction from Sims is on the whole very disciplined, given the challenge of shooting the story in real-time, and he has evoked some decent performances from his small cast. Tom Budge and Gillian Jones in particular show themselves in great form. In a way, this is the kind of Australian film we should be seeing more of; tightly managed, strongly written and well-cast, it is not a seat-filler by any stretch but it tells a largely engrossing story in an authentic Australian voice. The film’s central conceit might be difficult to credit for some, but if accepted Last Train to Freo carries the viewer to an affecting denouement.
It is smaller films such as this that reflect the underlying health of Australian film, and Sims is to be applauded for his effort. It will be interesting to see where Pork Chop, his production team, go from here. One thing is certain, and that is that if their next effort is as polished as Last Train to Freo, we can look forward to some interesting work from this company.
Le Chevalier D’Eon - Liberty, Fraternity and Anime for All
Studio: Production I.G
distributed by madman.com.au
RRP: $29.95
Every so often comes an anime release that consciously strives to lift itself above the glut of robo-sorcery and skin-clad schoolgirl warriors, resorting to narrative complexity and inventiveness to individuate itself from the excesses of typical Japanese animation. Production I.G is one studio that consistently rises to such a challenge, and here they’ve done it again with Le Chevalier D’Eon, available in Australia through Madman.
Based on an award winning historical fantasy novel by Tow Ubukata and set in 18th Century France in the lead-up to the Revolution, the story follows D’Eon de Beaumont as he pursues the mystery of his sister’s death, Lia, a retainer of Louis XV. His investigations lead him into a complex web of alliances that include Le Secret Du Roi (the secret police), dark magicians, and a secret revolutionary organisation led by the Comte Saint Germain. Indeed, one of the hallmarks of the series is just how well it suggests the explosive atmosphere of France at the time - seditious mutterings are heard in the royal gardens, and assassinations occur seemingly at random, suggesting deeper currents of a dark design across Europe. It also introduces quite artfully a plausible occult thread that is not at odds with the myths that resonated deeply at the time.
Being an OAV (made for television), the episodic nature of Le Chevalier D’Eon means that it takes some time to cast its net and capture the viewer. Much of the first episode goes gently, but when the climax arrives it sets off a chain of ever more engrossing events across the subsequent chapters. The animation varies in quality, from being perfunctory in segues to fast and spell-binding in some of the fencing scenes, but on the whole is of a consistently high standard. The English dub is quite satisfactory, given how often nuances are steam-rolled in many lesser examples.
Production I.G are one of the powerhouses of anime - indeed, their Ghost in the Shell series stands as a high watermark for marrying high-concept narrative with technical proficiency. Le Chevalier D’Eon is a fine example of their consummate skill in this form. For those who are looking for a slightly more involved series to while away the winter, and if the story-telling remains tight across future episodes, I.G’s latest comes highly recommended.
Giveaway: double passes to West
We’ve got 10 double passes to the opening week of the new Aussie independent film, West to give away! They’re valid Fri 6 July to Thu 12 July (Mon to Fri). West opens July 5 at the George and Westgarth cinemas in Melbourne. Just email us your name, mobile number and postal address to comps “at” vcasu.org.au and go into the draw.
West is a hard-edged drama, set in the suburban badlands west of Sydney. It takes an unflinching look at the lack of choices available to young people and the resulting aggression and frustration.
Two inseparable cousins, Pete (Khan Chittenden) and Jerry (Nathan Phillips) dream of something better, but their relationship is tested and their lives changed dramatically when they both fall in love with the same girl.
Through the conflicting loyalties of friendship, the haze of drugs, forbidden sex and spontaneous violence, the boys discover how quickly life can spiral out of control when the choices we make are the wrong ones. This article continues, click here to read on…
Allan Browne Quintet: The Drunken Boat
Allan Browne Quintet
The Drunken Boat 
Allan Browne’s latest offering is inspired by Arthur Rimbaud’s poem The Drunken Boat, with 5 suites written to each of the 5 verses. There is a nautical feel right from the beginning of the recording, from the opening lazy, loping melody of Unguided on Impassive Rivers, reminiscent of a slow, rocking passage on water, which segues into the repeated sounds of the trumpet and saxophone sounding like a bell being struck across the open sea on Released to Wander.
The personified boat in Rimbaud’s poem becomes drunk on the absinthe in its cargo and careers down the water, a “hymn to the quest of unknown realitiesâ€. This independence and adventurousness seeps through all the tracks on this album. Stella Browne’s sweet, melancholy voice graces the closing song, which she composed, although her French accent perhaps could have been more authentic.
There is a very intimate, caressing sound from all the players, in particular, Eugene Ball’s speech-like tone blends well with Geoff Hughes’ warm guitar sound. Allan Browne’s supportive, encouraging drumming underpins this album, and one gets the impression of an affectionate, welcoming man behind the playing, someone who has gathered these impressive players, including David Rex on saxophone and Nick Haywood on bass, and created a vibrant environment for strong compositions, (all the short tracks, ranging from under a minute to four and a half minutes, were written by Ball and Hughes) and beautiful improvisations and atmosphere.
Wild East
Wild East
By April De Angelis
Director: Lucy Freeman
With: Martin Sharpe, Verity Charlton and Marcella Russo
Playing May 30 – June 30 at Red Stitch Actors Theatre, Rear 2 Chapel St, St Kilda
Actor-turned-playwright April de Angelis has had a prolific output over the past twenty years. Wild East, first produced at the Royal Court in 2005, is a melange of styles, probably best lumped under the generic title of “comedyâ€. Set during the job interview of a young graduate (Martin Sharpe) for a job in Russia at an advertising agency by Doctors Pitt and Gray (Verity Charlton and Marcella Russo), the play uncovers the relationship between the Doctors, who have their own volatile relationship, along with some surprising corporate techniques that the interview hopeful is put through.
De Angelis provides some genuinely laugh out loud moments and quotable lines, which made me realise how rare that is with contemporary comedies, which often resort to offensive, provocative moments to surprise the audience. Unfortunately the stereotypical view of Russia doesn’t contribute to the satirical tone of the piece but seems rather narrow-minded. If this is on purpose to reveal the shallow views of people working in the business world, it is not emphasised enough. As the play twists over the course of 85 minutes, De Angelis throws in elements that seem to detract rather than contribute to the play: ranging from epilepsy to shamanism, with some token drug taking.
Two of the actors (Sharpe and Charlton) perform stylised characterisations with Russo very calm and understated, essentially playing “the straight guyâ€. These two styles seem at odds with each other and perhaps contribute to the unbalanced production, which never seems to know whether it is a satire, a screwball comedy or a slight bit of fun. Charlton particularly pushes her interpretation onto the text but this does allow for some hilarious moments as the character starts to unravel. Sharpe is an engaging actor and the audience is empathetic of his character’s unfortunate situation.
Freeman does keep the action moving, and in a three-hander with one setting (appropriately designed by Peter Mumford, with lighting by Stelios Karagiannis) that is to be commended, but the unevenness of tone is the major problem with the production.
However, much is to be admired of Red Stitch as it continues to produce Australian premieres and take risks on productions that the bigger companies ignore. It is heartening that the latest show is a genuine comedy by a lesser known writer, rather than a retread of a crowd favourite.
Australian Chamber Orchestra: Enchanted
ACO Enchanted
with Danny Spooner and Mike Kerin
Monday June 11, 8pm, Hamer Hall
Richard Tognetti does his bit for musical boundary-hopping with this latest offering, which pairs an ACO sextet with fiddle player Mike Kerin and traditional folk singer Danny Spooner. Though the idea is certainly one of genres intertwined, of techniques merged, there is something satisfyingly competitive about the meeting too. To make a modern analogy, the krumpers on our left and the clowns on our right, one-upping each other at every turn with virtuosity the final victor. Kerin sinks his bow and machine-gun fingers into the mythical Hangman’s Reel, then Tognetti puts his limbs to work on some Paganini devilry, and so on. Spooner looks like Oliver Reed might have if he’d had a slightly more robust diet of folk music and has a similar gravel-in-honey voice that finds itself equally at home in the Hebrides or Gurradunga. The ACO delights once again.
Click here for more details.
The Perjured City (or, the awakening of the Furies)
Perjured City (or, the awakening of the Furies)
By Hélène Cixous
Director: Kirsten von Bibra
With VCA Drama Company 2007
Playing May 29 – June 9 @ Space 28, VCA School of Drama (Sold Out)
Perjured City was originally presented by one of contemporary theatre’s greatest creators, Arianne Mnouchkine for her Théâtre du Soleil. The play is written by Hélène Cixous, professor, feminist theorist and philosopher and translated by Bernadette Fort. To mount a production so closely associated with a company is a massive undertaking, but the 23 actors of Company 2007 from the VCA Drama School, along with 25 Production students, have more than met the challenge.
The play dramatises a real-life situation in 1985 involving a blood transfusion centre in France that knowingly sold HIV-contaminated blood to over 5,000 people, which resulted in many deaths, and the subsequent trial three years later. It melds the mythological realm with a “realistic†world seamlessly. This is a place where Aeschylus and the Furies mingle with doctors and lawyers.
Each technical aspect manages to stand out yet support the production as a whole. Jessica Daly’s costumes are evocative and stark, creating stunning images than linger in the mind. The music by Elizabeth Drake is another character and lives in the space without being foreboding or obvious, recalling everything from Philip Glass to electronica. The lighting by Whitney McNamara is striking and evolves into a stunning coup de théâtre that has to be seen.
Kirsten von Bibra is to be congratulated for her astonishing direction which keeps the action moving within a defined space. She manages to meld the heightened and stylised aspects with a cleanliness and simplicity all the while giving space for the text to breathe. The translation itself is fantastic, managing to be poetic and spiritual without being saccharine or resorting to didacticism.
There is also a surprisingly unbiased dramatisation of the situation. Characters may be categorised by their names and archetypes (the Mother, Forzza, King and Queen) but there are no plain dealing villains in the piece. Furthermore, perhaps due to Cixous’ feminist leanings, she allows the women in particular to transcend the archetypes initially given to them: namely the Mother, the Queen and the Furies.
The actors themselves claim the space and appear quite comfortable navigating the imaginative, circus-like set designed by Jeminah Reidy. Of particular note is the strength of physicality and vocal work of which every actor seems in complete control.
Simplicity has also served the piece well, especially with an incredibly effective use of puppetry and music combining in the scenes with the Ezekiel children who have been infected with the blood and subsequently died. Rarely have I been so moved in a theatre.
My one criticism is that some scenes seem to go on too long, recounting to the audience what we already know without building on what has come previously. However, this is a minor complaint.
A measure of the production’s greatness is the fact that I couldn’t shake the play from my mind days later. It took a play that recounts some incredibly abhorrent human behaviour to show true beauty. This is a rare thing: must-see theatre that will leave your mind and your heart engaged.