 I
cannot remember so wholeheartedly
wanting a piece of theatre not
to stop as I did the first half
of this gorgeous double bill of
theatrical creativity. It
comes from the California Institute
of the Arts School of Theatre and
is a collaborative piece, although
it was basically conceived by Madeleine
Bernatchez, who is a student of
scenic design. The pieces
are based around images, and the
ethos of Sintroca – the
group behind this work – is
about creating text for image. Moonshine is
a tiny, intense homage to film
noir.
Were
t possible to give a standing ovation from the grave,
I’m sure Raymond Chandler would. Moonshine sets
the perfectly cut diamonds of its
words in light and dance, shadowplay
and song. The piece is a great
example of creating an ensemble of individuals; there
was joy in watching anyone on stage, at any moment. Ali
Ahn (femme fatale) and William Figueroa (private eye)
are fabulous together (“You’re not very
tall.” “I try to be. . . “)
and pretty marvelous apart.
Any
script that describes a woman as having “convenient
hair” or a nervous guy as “shaking like
a lovers’ bed on a hardwood floor” has
me (to quote another film genre) “at hello.” The
shadowplay sequences are theatrical magic, the music
is great and the use of tap almost unacceptably clever.
This
was a highlight of my Fringe. It should be of
yours.
Peepshow,
the second piece, has the five
talented ladies of the ensemble
in little boxes with satin blinds
on the side that rise and fall with each tiny gem
of a set-piece. Ten
perfectly pedicured feet dance to the bass intro of Fever,
tiny curtains rise on the backs
of the girls with weeny puppet
acrobats performing on the skin/stage,
the boxed ladies sing Teach Me, Tiger to
the imaginary customer in the side
of their box, and they are hot. And
in between all these little moments there is a delightful
murmur of girly comments, minuscule sneezes, little
giggles and breathy sighs.
Kate Copstick
16 August 2006
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