comments are closed on this review, click here for worldwidereview home
From: Sexia
Category: Theatre
Date: 18 October 2005
Well as my boyfriend said - Romance was nearly rubbish and I was, on this occasion, obliged to consider his critical opinion. The comment itself, nearly rubbish, was the pivotal point. He’s right it wasn’t utter rubbish and the script had given performance opportunities to several aging actors who usually never see the light of day accept on the Bill and other such ‘real life’ dramas. It was David Mamet’s script that had lost its edge, a rambling affair trying desperately trying to combat the racial and sexual prejudice deep rooted in our lives. At least it was short and I got to sit behind Ona Stubbs who seemed delighted throughout but the again she did play Aunt Sally in Worzel Gummidge … (for those of us old enough to remember dire 80’s children’s TV) To be honest after seeing a preview of the captivating Underground by Dreamthinkspace all other productions have paled by comparison. Underground, based on Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, has thrown out linear time and storytelling. The characters speaking in their native tongues roam through the former abattoir cleverly transformed into individual sets interacting with both the audience and each other. The audience is free to wander, to encounter each character, to hear Raskolnikov lament his crime, to be offered illicit vodka by Marmeladov or to be propositioned by Sonia, Marmeladov fallen daughter. At the same time the suited and booted workers march with military precision to create the overwhelming oppressive air. A mesmerising experience…
comments are closed on this review, click here for worldwidereview home