Another One, Summerhall, Review

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Rating (out of 5)
3
Show info
Venue
Company
Big in Belgium with Richard Jordan Productions
Production
Richard Jordan Productions (Producer) Theatre Royal Plymouth (Co-producer)
Performers
Maxim Storms. Lobke Leirens
Running time
55mins

Two lonely souls live almost in total silence. Another One presents the cost of that silence, and the repercussions of solitude.

It does pose the question of whether surviving time is enough; there is a huge amount of emptiness not only on stage with the stark white backdrop but also in the characters themselves. The only thing that seems to define them is their oddness, a trait one can’t help imagine is a product of their isolation.

Although it bills itself as a story of two people who survive peacefully together, it does not seem like a very peaceful existence. The whole production weeps of loneliness and dissatisfaction and lack of direction. There may be peace in an empty existence but human nature dictates we must fill emptiness with something, or be unhappy; it seems these characters do both. What they chose to fill time with does not make them happy, there is no fulfilment; it does not feel peaceful but destructive. Perhaps the idea of toleration, the need to tolerate for fear of being completely alone builds bridges where there are none and is blind to self-destruction.

The piece can be visually interesting and there are motifs and soundscapes which do well to capture the monotony and passage of empty time. It is not a happy piece, it is not hopeful, but it is an exploration. The feeling we are left with is that of a warning, to do rather than just to exist, for in that direction madness lies.