|
The Studio, Sydney Opera House
until April 13
Bookings: 9250 7777
As the cold winds blow in and short shorts begin their hibernation at the back of the closet, there have been some great shows, alas with very brief seasons, to help us forget that summer is exiting stage right.
All of these works deserve bums on seats but Moving Target seemed to demand such an audience that I felt compelled to write about it.
What awaits you when you enter The Studio are six actors placed on a off-white grubby set who are standing, sitting or slumped next to a red sofa, a stained rug, a couple of chairs and a table.
They seem to be waiting for something to happen when all of a sudden one of them walks to the corner and counts to 100. So begins the first frantic game of ‘hide and seek’ that is obsessively played time and time again, but there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.
Just when I thought I was doomed to watch theatre games until curtain call, this piece unexpectedly evolved into a disturbing evocation of terrorism and paranoia. It then became a very physical experience for me. With all the frenzied action on stage it was unnerving how almost frozen I felt watching it.
The text lets us observe the lunacy at close range but it also keeps it far away. I guess what this show tapped into was good old-fashioned fear with a capital F and I really felt odd for a time.
Moving Target is the latest project to emerge from the ongoing collaboration between German Playwright Marius Von Mayenberg and Australian director Benedict Andrews.
Both were born in 1972 and both seem interested in making theatre with a lot of imagination and inventiveness that critiques culture while still communicating complex thoughts and feelings.
This is my first Von Mayenberg experience but I’ve been a fan of Andrews for a while now.
After admiring his reimagining of classics such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Season at Sarsaparilla, it was good to see a production where he was involved from its inception. In fact, the writer, director, actors and designers were all there at the initial two-week workshop.
The production has an excellent cast who are as elastic verbally as they are physically.
It is an unusual show but it might be a vital piece of theatre to see. I know I’m glad I saw it.
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
