FRAGILE! To 29 September.

London

FRAGILE!
by Tena Stivicic.

Arcola Theatre (Theatre 2) 27 Arcola Street E8 2DJ To 29 September 2007.
Mon-Sat 8.15pm.
Runs 1hr 50min No interval.

TICKETS: 020 7503 1646.
www.arcolatheatre.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 22 September.

Bleak play given hope by its characters.
They don’t appear fragile at first, these Balkan, Scandinavian and antipodean arrivals. All have hope and ambition, until they realise the menial day-jobs are all there’ll ever be in the London James Macnamara’s design aptly pictures in fragments behind the action of Tena Stivicic’s play.

There’s little comfort even for Michi and Gayle (dependable performances from John Moraitis and Georgiana James), who in different ways help the newer newcomers. Only one of the younger people seems to have a chance of success. For others it’s holding on or going back.

Stivicic draws her characters vividly and, helped by some fine performances in Michael Gielata’s production for The Cherub, gives them life and space to breathe in the clash between energy, hope and the reality they face away from each other (though the two older characters are less thoroughly explored).

There’s remarkable resilience in the case of Tiasha, who has crossed Europe, escaping from forced-sex, to find her lover. She props a map of her travels on the desk in her new hostel room, a sign of her intensity of purpose and the mental determination needed to survive her traumatic experience, something Catherine Cusack makes clear in her resolutely upright posture and concentrated expression.

But there’s little response from news-photo editor Erik when they meet again. He’s drawn to Mila, a singer of soulful music who abounds with life, until life treats her roughly once more. Rayisa Kondracki shows both aspects of Mila, and her ultimate sense of reality. Kondracki’s talk with Joseph Garton’s newly-arrived Marko, a comedy wannabe, is a high, still point amid the fluid action.

Gielata’s rapid tempo changes reflect the mood-swings between characters, aptly echoed in background music. Near the end the story flows less smoothly, as if Stivicic is struggling to contain her characters’ stories within a manageable length.

But the final meeting of Mila and Marko is a melancholy, calm farewell, as Marta sings for her supper on the Embankment. Summing-up the fragility of these people’s situation and the tenacity of their spirit, it encapsulates the humanity and understanding of this remarkable, beautifully produced play.

Tiasha: Catherine Cusack.
Marko: Joseph Garton.
Gayle: Georgiana James.
Erik: Edward Kingham.
Mila: Rayisa Kondracki.
Marta: Stella Maris.
Michi: John Moraitis.

Director: Michael Gielata.
Designer: James Macnamara.
Lighting: John Terry.
Sound: Christopher James.
Musical supervision: Russell Hepplewhite.
Voice work: William Trotter.

2007-09-23 23:45:53