Triptych-
The Print Room
Directed by Patrick Eakin Young
The Print Room theatre has
managed to sustain a run of impressive productions over the seasons, it's an exciting, intimate space and
although their most recent production is certainly not un-engaging, and is not
a disaster, it is disappointing. A
modern operetta (libretto written by Orlando Wells and Patrick Eakin Young) comprised of three individual plays or ‘tableaux’ (hence the
title, ‘Triptych’). The title indeed implies the production itself is, a piece
of art. I can’t wholly disagree- if this
was the aim then so be it (what is art anyway? etc.) This idea sounds ideal:
art and theatre, oh and opera combined! Why not?
The first ‘tych’ of the three
was frustrating. It was borderline angering. The use of voice as an expressive
medium is by no means one I am opposed to- like the majority of people! But
here, it seemed completely incongruent. It added nothing whatsoever to the
‘narrative’ (not that there really was a discernable one). The combined use of video camera projection
and live action was perhaps the most interesting thing about the first piece.
It is nothing novel- it was done substantially in the Almedia’s recent
adaptation of ‘1984’, however, unlike with ‘Triptych’, the technique actually
had integrity- it congruously contributed to the meaning. So, was this an
opera? A work of art? Or a piece of theatre? The nature of this blending of
genres grew boring very, very quickly. There seemed to be an attempt at a
probing discussion about personal faith but this was lost in the absurdity of
the direction. The desire to create something purely experimental was clearly
the top priority (most likely with the hope that meaning would neatly follow). The
audience had little clue of what was going on. I’m an avid fan of not knowing
what’s going on in a piece of theatre but, keep it to the immersive: it only
really worked in Punchdrunk’s ‘The Drowned Man’ where the audience is allowed
to create their own meaning and own sense of what is ‘going on’. The first
triptych was overall vapid and hugely challenging to bear.
The second piece proved more
interesting. It was an almost surreal, comedic work showing a character playing
with a turntable and an old-fashioned English language record. The record
itself came alive with the rest of the ensemble each taking on a voice. It was
funny, engaging, but sadly this didn’t last long. Similarly to the previous
piece, the director seems to delight in a little wee bit of gratuitous nudity.
The scene came to a ‘climax’ with an absurd orgy-like scene, the actors still
speaking in time with the language record and the odd line of song.
From this lighter central
triptych the play moved to end on a darker note. The ensemble narrated a
seemingly mundane tale in song of a Chicago man in the midst of a dying era, a
haunting relationship with change and a profound death. However, I still can’t
comprehend the use of the operatic medium. It, like a lot of the play, has a
gimmicky overtone. Although the underlying theme of disconnection is of much greater substance.
The stage design is overwhelmingly original- Gavin Turk's creation is postmodern and wonderfully quirky. Nevertheless one leaves ‘Triptych' feeling a bit disappointed: issues are raised, but not followed through. I support any endeavour to stretch and surprise but, experiment should not merely be for experiments sake.
2/5
Cordelia Nagle
4th of June 2014
