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Innocence (Unschuld)

 

Presented by Accidental Productions
Reviewed Friday 1st July 2011

http://www.accidentalproductions.com.au/Innocence.html
http://www.bakehousetheatre.com/shows/2011

Venue: Bakehouse Theatre, 255 Angas Street, Adelaide
Season: 8pm Sat 2nd, Wed – Sat, 6th – 9th and Wed – Sat, 13th – 16th July 2011
Duration: 2hrs 30min incl interval
Tickets: adult $23/conc $19
Bookings: 8227 0505 or on line at http://www.bakehousetheatre.com/bookings or at the door.

 

Berlin based multi-award winning writer Dea Loher's play is a series of short scenes, each with just a couple of members of the large cast, showing facets of related concepts. The English translation is by David Tushingham.

There is a great deal of Brecht's approach to theatre in this production, with actors explaining there own and other's thoughts and actions, actors talking directly to the audience, and distancing themselves to emphasise the message.

Two illegal immigrants, Fadoul and Elisio, see a woman undress and walk into the ocean. They spend so long arguing the pros and cons of saving her life, but risking being caught by so doing, that she drowns. Fadoul finds a bag full of money and Elisio agonises over their failure to save the woman.

Frau Habersatt (Mrs. Hadenough in some English translations) intrudes on a man and woman whose daughter has been murdered, apologising on behalf of her son who killed her, but she actually has no children and no connection at all to the accused.

Frau Zucker (Mrs. Sugar in some English translations) moves in with her daughter Rosa and son-in-law Franz, her diabetes slowly eating away at her foot. She dreams of owning a petrol station and having a cigarette. Franz has given up medicine to be an undertaker's assistant, and brings home the remains of anybody who is unclaimed. Rosa wants a baby but, with her mother lying next to them in their one room, that seems out of the question.

Ella, an academic who has burned all but one of her books, The Unreliable World, talks incessantly about her theories at her silent husband, Helmut, who focusses on making jewellery and completely ignores her, even when she hits him to try to get his attention.

Two men meet at a party on the thirteenth floor of a building, talk briefly, then commit suicide by jumping. Absolute is a blind pole dancer in a strip club, isolated from everybody. She becomes involved with Fadoul and he offers to pay for an operation to restore her sight with the money that he found.

These apparently unrelated stories of people on the fringes of society, living on the edge, all run parallel to one another exploring a range of themes. They add up to an intriguing exploration of modern urban living.

Director, Joh Hartog, has assembled a very good cast, with a mix of emerging artists, graduates of either Flinders University or AC Arts, and some seasoned professionals. His acute direction has resulted in a tightly woven set of tales that complement each other well and add to build a powerful picture of the fragmented nature of modern life, where many of us now do not even know our next door neighbours.

What does one say about Bridget Walters that has not been said before? Frau Zucker is yet another of her captivating performances, filled with light and shade, balancing the humour and the pathos, convincingly portraying this complex woman and creating rich relationships with the other actors with whom she interacts.

As Frau Habersatt, Ann Portus also offers a strong performance, outwardly exhibiting every sign of being a quiet, dowdy, ordinary woman, suffering from her knowledge of the crimes committed by her son, yet she is strangely manipulative, giving a subtle indication of mental instability.

Then there is Anna Linarello, as Ella, with a very fine performance as a bitter, totally obsessed woman, frustrated and angered by her inability to engage in any form of communication with her husband, crossing the line to physical violence in her desperation for contact. She gives great depth to her character.

Bob Brady and Tim Smith provide some thoughtful performances as the two suicidal men, and Jesse Butler and Nic Krieg, as Fadoul and Eilisio, give some well rounded performances, their characterisations showing that they have been thrown together by circumstance and that they have little in common beyond their status as illegal immigrants.

Amy Victoria Brooks, as Rosa, and Hjálmar Svenna, as Franz, create very believable characters that supposedly have their marriage and the hope of children in common, yet signal in so many ways, spoken and unspoken, that they both have very different approaches to their lives and markedly diverse goals. They tend to suggest that having Frau Zucker preventing them from pursuing their life together is actually a blessing.

Newcomer, Samantha Soh, is a real find, offering a superbly sensitive performance as the blind dancer, Absolute. Keep an eye on her career as she is going places.

Casey van Sebille's set and Stephen Dean's lighting combine to provide a space that suggests many locations without accurately defining any of them, adding to the feeling of dislocation embedded in this production.

Accidental Productions have a challenging and rewarding performance on their hands that is likely to sell out, so do not wait too long to get your tickets.

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Arts Editor, Glam Adelaide.

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