Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
Berkoff’s stage directions can be a little over-directive and productions frequently run the risk of simply imitating the original Berkoff directed production. Thankfully director Alexander Wright avoided falling into this trap and the result was a stunning, inventive and original performance that pushed both the performers and the audience to their limits without completely abandoning the essence of the original.
A stunning, inventive and original performance
I don’t really want to give too much away, as the audiences for this week’s three performances have many surprises in store, but some moments demand a mention. The play opens with the audience admitted one at a time, blindfolded and led into the barn’s performance space. There we are bombarded with sounds both created live by the performers, whispering eerie phases like “We’ve been waiting for you” and my favourite line “you’re rather tall”, combined with the staggering soundtrack, all contributing to a completely terrifying but awe-inspiring first ten minutes.
The physical demands on the performers were intense with Wright choosing to represent the nameless, faceless individuals that plague the protagonist Joseph K (James Duckworth) as mime artists. This risky move paid off with the entire cast seeming comfortable with the balancing, turns and flips involved throughout the piece. There was never time to rest as the actors seemed to continually move, assuming different characters whether the obtuse guards (Lucy Whitby and Lucy Farrett) or adopting the pose of a lamp or chest of drawers, even a bed. Sometimes the action may have distracted from the text but I think this helped inject life into what can sometimes be a dry script, especially in the second act.
Alex Forsyth demonstrated his physical ability suspending himself from the roof of the Barn by rope on several occasions in his role of Inspector. Sarah Barker’s performance as Titurelli, the most famous court painter, was also a comedic high point and she balanced the absurdity of the character well without it becoming too pantomime. However the most gripping moment in the performance for me was during an instant of audience participation. The posters warn: “wear comfortable shoes, you will be physically manipulated” and they definitely aren’t lying. With frequent prodding, pushing, moving and direct address you feel as much a member of the ensemble as if you’d been rehearsing for weeks. However, the moment I refer to in particular is during a speech by Forsyth in the second act. I cannot really tell you what the speech was about because I spent most of it with my head in the vice-like grip of Lucy Whitby with her hands covering my ears. However, Lucy’s facial expressions communicated the pain and confusion without the need for me to hear the words. This was a truly magical piece of acting and if you end up in my seat by chance you are very lucky indeed.
The technical aspects of the performance were excellent with striking use of lighting, most notably the use of torches. However, it was inevitable that something this technically difficult ran the risk of running into problems and the torches did sometimes distract the audience as performers dropped or rummaged around for them.
Overall this was a breath-taking production that carefully and skilfully balanced the comedy and ambiguity of Berkoff’s script whilst imposing a definite originality on the piece. All members of the cast and production team should be extremely proud of their achievements. I cannot recommend seeing this production enough and envy all those who are still to witness its surprises.
Performances of The Trial are on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights of this week at York University Drama Barn and start at 7:30pm. Tickets are available on the door but arrive early to avoid disappointment.
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