Life changing
I
know it’s cold outside. I know it’s wet and grim.
I know you would rather be snuggled up at home with your mohair
blanket and your ugg boots watching “CSI Tailem Bend”.
But I implore you: get out of the house and see Attempts on
Her Life.
This is brilliantly experimental and inspired theatre,
directed with imaginative flair and acted with skill and ingenuity.
Director Geordie Brookman’s production is unashamedly arty,
knowing and very funny.
Martin Crimp’s non-linear, anti-narrative
wordscape is strange, cryptic and elusive. It centres on the unknowable
and unseen character of Anne – or Anya or Annie –
who is discussed, dissected and examined in a series of scenes.
Who is she? Is Anne a terrorist, a porn actress, a tour guide,
an artist, a suicide, a mother – all of these, or none?
The vignettes include a movie pitch, a heart-rending parents’
lament, a cheesy, dark commercial for a new car, a hilariously
self-aware arts forum, and a rocking girl power song. In trying
to find the real Anne, we reflect on the nagging isolation and
anonymity in a world of relentless communication.
Brookman’s ensemble (Kate Box, Terence Crawford,
Lizzy Falkland, Cameron Goodall, Jude Henshall and Roman Vaculik)
does wonderful, bracing and hilarious work. The actors revel in
the freedom of abstract playing; they are loving what they are
doing and this sense of playful glee is infectious. This production
is a beautiful example of great trust between consummate actors
and a daring, intelligent director. There are so many superb scenes
and beautiful images that will stay with you. Brookman creates
a physical vibe that is both frenetic and still.
Geoff Cobham’s lighting design fits this production
perfectly. In amongst the shadowy penumbra, he uses torches, glow-sticks,
zippo lighters, mobile phones and hard shards of light to great
effect. It is smart, sensitive design instantly and constantly
at one with the action. In a play so concerned with discovering
Anne’s identity, the lighting both reveals and hides. Pip
Runciman’s set is sparse and fits the production well. Andrew
Howard’s music and sound design is subtle and complementary.
There is a palpable sense that Brookman’s
powerful vision is manifest in all areas of this production.
There are moments when the play seems a little too
clever and smugly aware of its cleverness. Some scenes are over-written
and drag a little. There is also a feeling that this is theatre
of the mind and not of the heart or the gut. There is no rage
or pain in the writing; there is an intellectual coolness. But
these are momentary concerns in what is an overwhelmingly excellent
night in the theatre. This is an audacious, perplexing and brilliant
show. See it.
John Wells
