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Lament
Artistic Collaborators - Graham Eatough, David Greig, Nick Powell
and Ian Scott
Performers - Original cast :Paul Blair, Callum Cuthbertson, Kate
Dickie, Graham Eatough, Louise Ludgate and Nick Powell. 2003 Cast Paul
Blair replaced by David Ireland and Louise
Ludgate replaced by Catherine Keating.
Company - Suspect Culture
Date reviewed April 2002 going to Byre St Andrews, Lemon Trees
Aberdeen and to Toronto Canada in Spring 2003 details
Reviewer - Thelma Good
Stuck in a miasma of their lack of faith
We all experience loss, but these thirtysomethings characters seem to
be lost in their own private worlds. It's an uninspiring production where
the videos and the performers are at times inaudible and frequently appear
stuck in a miasma of their lack of faith, belief or any ability to just
get on with living. Joy or its opposite, gut wrenching sorrow, is something
they have largely denied themselves and their audience. It's clear they
think communication is nigh impossible but merely showing this gives neither
depth nor life to the piece. It's close to anti-theatre - is this where
Suspect Culture's journey is going?
We turn to laments when the loss is permanent. In lamenting we hope
through intense moments to wrestle the grief, the pain, to some kind of
inner calm, resolving finally in peace and returning to living life again.
This devised pertormance does little of this. We are taken to different
lands, different cultures in confusing snips of dialogue and internal
diatribes, side-swiping at global capitalism and the death or should it
be dearth of socialism and real human contact.
Lasting an hour and half the piece starts with video images of the performers
who half talk along with themselves - it's twenty minutes in before any
real narrative happens. Two peasants visited by a Body Shop woman realise
their secret of long life - apricots - has been ripped off in London.
Later in a genuinely funny and telling scene Kate Dickie's character tries
to get Callum Cuthbertson's and Paul Blair's to dance together as lovers
should. Ah Scots - deep emotions are difficult for us. Lament only rarely
approaches intense feelings, and when they do occur often they are ignored
by the other characters. More often the losses they enumerate seem not
crucial or scarring, only causing mild discomfort.
The performers change characters and locations in a dislocating, unsettlling
way on a set backed by a mesh wall with 3 video screens on one side -
on the rest objects are attached as at Ground Zero and electronic graphics
and text are displayed. On the stage is a wave of preformed ply and varying
height plinths with basins of water, earth and fire. One of the artistic
collaborators I am please to note washes his hands a lot - o'er vaunting
ambition revealing the perpetrators' lack of solid purpose? Lamentably
Suspect Culture have displayed their latest set of new clothes following
the fashion of a famous Emperor, he though only did it once, this company
are here threadbare and I fear there is nothing very interesting hidden
in their closet! I also question the creative process where only 2 of
the actors were involved as artistic collaborators.
I hoped for something to move me, echoing my own losses - innocence, youth,
loved people, places and passions but I left frustrated and fuming - not
excited or involved as Suspect Culture say they want their audiences to
be.
© Thelma Good 4 April 2002
Review of Suspect Cultures Casanova productions
in 2001
Lament Tour dates
2003 Tour dates
21 Jan at 8PM
St Andrews Byre Theatre 01334 475000
24 Jan at 7.30pm Aberdeen The Lemon Tree 01224 642230
Suspect Culture in Canada - January 2003
Suspect Culture will be opening the Six Stages Festival in Toronto, one
of Canada's key International Theatre Festivals.
28 Jan - Feb 1 at Artword Theatre Toronto , Ontario Canada. M5V
2M9
Pervious Tour dates
3 - 6 April 2002 at 8pm Tron Theatre Glasgow 0141 552 4267
10 - 14 April at 8pm Traverse Theatre Edinburgh 0131 228 1404
19 April at 7:30pm Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester 0161 833 9833
20 April at 8pm Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester 0161 833 9833
24 April at 7:30pm Paisley Arts Centre 0141 887 1010
Tour Ends
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