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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2004 Reviews (39)Building Babble A stage set strewn with books heralds the beginning of a metaphysical piece of theatre and Building Babble is indeed concerned with a situation reminiscent of Sartre's Huis Clos. Four people seem to be imprisoned in some sort of underground and imaginary confinement defined by literature and language. It is apt that a physical theatre company should make a piece exploring the limitations of the word, and equally that all escape attempts require devised teamwork, but the problem is they become anchored in the visual metaphor and never quite transcend it. There are only so many meaningful and interesting ways to pile books and climb them. Only once does a complete transformation take place, when they soar in our imaginations and a book flaps like a sea gull as we see with them a a brief vision of the longed-for here beyond. In 2002 Attic People surprised the festival with Drip, a very fine piece of Le Coq work, that was a good showcase for their skills. Building Babble is a disappointment. They can do much, much better than this. Jackie Fletcher Tristan and Mr Poppins Tristan and Mr Poppins is an experimental journey into the subconscious and, as such, is not easy to describe or classify. The location might just be limbo or in someone's mind. The two characters in the title are painted white and explore simple philosophies mirrored by the large, invisible fairy-like Jessica. Nothing is given in this little world as the pair learn about existence and concepts such as the need to go under the water of memory, snorkel, bubbles and all. We also get beautiful images such as Mr Poppins sheltering under the lilac umbrella of loneliness. The play builds to the opening of a large white box and the investigation of its contents. This then leads on to a summation of the haunting world inhabited by these three, in which the answer is always another question. Like them, Nozomi Abe clearly believes that we should all accept that to go through life, it is necessary to walk the different ways. This is a quirky, haunting work that contains elusive meanings. Philip Fisher Teatro Delusio Over the years the German-based Familie Floz has pioneered a regeneration in European mask theatre developing an inimitable style and giving space in performance to the tragi-comic lives of seemingly ordinary folk. The protagonists of Teatro Delusion, like the waiters of the superb Ristorante Immortale, are provincial nonentities whose passions seem inconsequential in the greater scheme of things. And this is exactly how Familie Floz draws us in to make us roar with laughter and shed a tear with their delightful blend of physical humour and pathos. Teatro Delusio is a clever piece of metatheatre dealing with three stage hands in a provincial theatre as they are embroiled in a crowd of divas and maestros flitting through the backstage flats to make a sweeping entrance or exit. Firstly, there is the orchestra warming up as a host of comic personae pass by: an arrogant percussionist, a senile violinist, a panic-stricken triangle player, and so on. As the show gets under way, opera singers in fantastic wigs and costumes huff and puff amid a tangle of backstage wires, falling ladders and missing props. Love flourishes fleetingly between a clumsy techie and a shy ballerina; stage sword fights spill over into backstage reality and an irate stagehand calmly switches a prop gun for a real revolver resulting in a fine show of melodrama as the villain bites the dust. Framing these events is a ghost (and every theatre has one), a child who endows the entirety with the wonder of innocence. This mayhem is accomplished by just three performers in quick-change mode transforming into a vast array of characters, and as such it is a tour de force. Mask work is a highly sensitive and refined skill and Paco Gonzalez, Bjorn Leese and Hajo Schuler are masters of their craft. The full-head masks are captivating and engage our collaboration in investing them with life. In Britain mask theatre is generally construed as children's theatre and this is a great pity. The full sweep of human emotions can be captured in the seemingly trivial worlds of Teatro Delusio and Ristorante Immortale and the scenarios are contrived with a finely observed attention to the details of characterisation. Familie Floz's brand of physical comedy is endearing and galvanising. Jackie Fletcher |
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