Brecht makes a natural subject for contemporary treatment, and particularly in the Malthouse house style, given his emphasis on stylising and highlighting the artificial nature of his plays (the alienating principle underlying his theatrical philosophy); this production runs with that but doesn't quite land it despite some committed performances, most enjoyably from the three gods who set events in motion with their gift to Shen Te, the so-called 'good person' who offers them a bed to stay (one of whom, Emily Milledge, I saw in Frankenstein a few months back, where she also stood out).
So anyway overall, while I thought it was a bit of a hot mess, I enjoyed the play, and it had both an overall design and moments showing flashes of brilliance - and after all, getting the tonal balance right between evoking the nightmarish imagined Szechuan and human society and characters on the one hand, and deliberately throwing the audience out of its involvement to force us to think about the structural socio-political dimensions being depicted on the other, is a tricky pitch.
(w/ Erandathie and Jon, and also Cass arriving late and stuck up back)
So anyway overall, while I thought it was a bit of a hot mess, I enjoyed the play, and it had both an overall design and moments showing flashes of brilliance - and after all, getting the tonal balance right between evoking the nightmarish imagined Szechuan and human society and characters on the one hand, and deliberately throwing the audience out of its involvement to force us to think about the structural socio-political dimensions being depicted on the other, is a tricky pitch.
(w/ Erandathie and Jon, and also Cass arriving late and stuck up back)
