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| Edinburgh : A&E : Theatre: Reviews |
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Theatre listings > Joy of the Worm 3 women are curled up in hospital beds in the dark. A boiler suited man hobbles on to stage and lays down bread-crumbs, which are then swept up and secreted in her pillow by one of the women. Morning follows with all the little rituals of life; make-up is applied, shoes are hunted for, bowel movements are attempted, exercises are undertaken and dreams hoped for. This poignant vignette is repeated several times, each time with little variations, both to bring out the monotony of their lives but also to bring a poignancy to their actions. Lines through repetition and juxtaposition gain in meaning. And the characters gradually crystallise, the grumpy constipated one concerned for her privacy and constipations, the inanely positive one sure she won't be here next week, and the louche vamp constantly applying more lipstick and seducing their male carer, who seems to have at least as many problems as his patients. So far, so good. The problem with this piece is that it never really goes beyond the set-up of a situation. Sure, small stories emerge, and characters are drawn with increasing detail, so that we begin to have a sense of what makes these quirky characters tick, but ultimately the company fails to bring out a story that really grips the audience. Which is a shame, not least because there is real talent in this company and occasionally they give tantalising flashes of just how imaginative and creative they can be, only to descend back into the mire of confusion and not really going anywhere. The context for the show doesn't help with the clarity either. A challenging
world where private obsessions blur daily reality and almost totally obscure
the real world was never going to make for easy coherence, but somehow
we need to understand the point to this set-up. Occasionally in their
more solo moments all the cast show that depth of imagination that could
really draw us into the story. And maybe this is part of the problem;
with four such strong performers and devisers prehaps there was never
a strong enough vision to link their talents. Or could this need more
time, and a second attempt to draw the threads together after an outing
to the audience, to give it that central force that at the moment it is
lacking. Theatre listings >>
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