cultural_philistine
HAL_9000Review of One More Than One (Darlinghurst Theatre Company)
October 14th 2007 08:33
Oh, gosh, that's a new question. Well, short people, tall people, all kinds of people -- Asians, caucasians, everyone.
Would you recommend that people in general see it?
As opposed to cats and dogs?
Don't be rude. As opposed to not seeing it.
It's a unique piece of theatre, and it's a fusion of movement, dance, acrobatics... It may not appeal to everybody, but if you're the right audience for it, you'll appreciate it.
Have to admit I was looking at my watch after half an hour. Were you the right audience?
On that night, yes.
Was the play what you expected?
Oh, heavens no. Not at all. No. Look, I don't know what I was expecting; it certainly wasn't that. But actually, I was impressed by it. I get the impression it was written by the two performers -- it's a two-hander -- and I thought it was... It was very personal, and it was direct, and it was honest, and that's why it was powerful.
So what's the play actually about?
Two people meet on the Internet, and one just happens to be a metre high and the other one's six foot high, and basically it's an exploration of what it's like, for example, to be someone who's one metre -- literally, one metre -- tall, and what it's like to be an Asian person living in a Caucasian country, and what happens when these two people meet and fall in love and go out with each other and get to know each other, and sort of the... the interaction between the two, and that's explored through movement and dance.
Is there a storyline?
It's a simple storyline really, I mean it's boy meets girl... girl is dwarf and boy is an Asian geek, so it's just your normal storyline, just reworked.
Is there any way you think the play could have gone deeper, could have explored these things more?
Oh, look, possibly. I mean it was only a one hour play. It was a very physical play for the performers. There were parts of it where I was... there'd be like two minutes where I was just lost as to what it was about... For instance, there was the sequence before the female actress comes out on stilts, and that couple of minutes beforehand I wasn't really comfortable with what was going on, I didn't really understand it. And another part was apparently a reference to a computer game and I don't play computer games so it just goes straight over my head, but the movement there was interesting... the Asian actor incorporated kung fu into his performance.
And break-dancing.
Oh, was that what it was. Okay, well thank you. So that was interesting.
Maybe I should ask you this question directly. What's good about this production?
It's written for and by those two people, they obviously fit the roles perfectly. And the whole scenario is unique. And to see the world through the eyes of someone who is, you know, to put it bluntly, vertically challenged, is fascinating, because you just don't think about it -- I mean, just the obstacles and prejudices they face in everyday life.
Automatic doors don't open for her, she can't see into mirrors, she can't reach paper towels in restrooms, and when she does, they all wind up in a pile at her feet...
The lead actress is literally a metre tall and despite her size is able to convey this enormous stage presence. And then to see the world through the eyes of someone who is a first-generation Australian and is six foot tall and is basically meshing two cultures together, I mean that's quite fascinating.
I thought the actress was very competent; the guy was less good, but made up for it with movement and energy. What else was creative here?
The use of those boxes, the way they moved them around the stage and incorporated that into the performance. And I liked the use of the video images on the boxes, I thought that was very clever and quite inventive, and the exciting use of sound and lighting.
Was there much seeing through the eyes of the Asian person?
That was a little more... superficial... It wasn't as deep as the other character. But there was a sense of it.
Was the whole thing a bit of a freakshow?
I suppose there is a risk it could have become that, but it wasn't.
What saved it?
The honesty between the two actors. And also, when they were performing, what I found particularly likeable about it was the trust between them when they were doing... for example I suppose there was some kind of acrobatics or some kind of dance which required trust because the female actor was being... I don't want to give it away... basically swung around by the male actor, and I think there was a huge amount of trust there.
Yeah, there were a lot of gasp moments, when you were worried someone might get hurt. Is there anything you disliked about this production?
Only the parts when I didn't really understand what it was about.
Was the play relevant to your life at all?
In what way?
In any way.
Oh... I suppose I could relate to the... what's the word for it... the to-ing and fro-ing between the two characters as they got to know each other.
Is there anything you want to say to the actors should they ever read this?
Oh god... Love the novelty and the openness of the production and the thinking behind it... just the freshness of it.
Did anything in the play affect you? Emotionally?
The tenderness that the male performer showed when he was rocking... cartwheeling the box across the stage which contained the female actress.
That sounds hilarious.
Because that required a huge amount of trust, and that was quite touching.
Thanks for your time, Hal.
~~~
One More Than One is playing at the Darlinghurst Theatre from Thursday 4 October to Saturday 20 October. Tickets at $25/$30, and note that evening performances are at 7pm rather than 8pm. Further info is available from the website.
This play made its debut (I think) at Darlinghurst Theatre in 2005, and has since appeared at other theatres and festivals.
~~~
Produced by: Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Atypical Theatre Company, and KidsTheseDays
Devisers/performers: Emma J Hawkins and Keith Lim -- and hats off to them for putting so much effort into making each moment physically interesting
Director: Nikki Heywood
Designer: Kate Shanahan
Lighting: Michael Richardson, Clytie Smith, Gwendolyna Holmberg-Gilchrist
Composer: Jon Creenaune
Video imagery: Shahane Bekarian
Movement: Rowan Marchingo
~~~
Further reading:
-- Darlo drama website
-- Jill Sykes' Sydney Morning Herald review: "... best is their body language in dance. Their first physical encounter is poignant in its sensitive intimacy, with Lim coming down to Hawkins's level rather than whirling her around in the cloud nine of her dreams. They find new ways of partnering that fit their physical extremes and express the experience of two people discovering one another as individuals. It is a beautiful prelude to the more vigorous duet of rough and tumble... that indicates the physicality of their union and maintains the balance between theatre and circus. Finally, the still and unspoken ending provides a rare moment of perfection in theatre."
-- Jason Blake in the Sun-Herald (7 October 2007, p 22), notes, inter alia: "unorthodox and affecting dance-drama... It begins with two internet-savvy singletons meeting for an awkward coffee... Looking to break down stereotypes, gentle questioning soon turns crass... Deeper interrogation is achieved through dance. Lim and Hawkins’s physical encounters are full of unexpected twists, turns and lifts, often inspired by their extreme differences in body shape. Vigorous rough and tumble gives way to gentle holds and caresses and, in the end, an absorbing stillness."
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