Gone Missing - The Civilians till 22 May

GONE MISSING - THE CIVILIANS: Peter Morris
The Gate Theatre, Notting Hill
3 -22 May
020 72290706
Runs 75mins

Review: Kim Durham 5th May

New York visiting company The Civilians bring with them a small gem of a show.

This is the first London visit by New York based company, The Civilians, and they bring with them a small gem of a show.

From the simplest of initial procedures inviting relatives and members of the public to recount incidences of loss - the crisply engaging company has constructed a remarkably resonant collage of song, snatched monologue and extended riff.

At first, as told by an interwoven collection of abrasive Manhattan voices, the losses are prosaic: a mobile phone here, a single Gucci shoe there. But gradually a deeper sense of loss emerges through the competing monologues. A garrulous police officer enthusiastically and graphically catalogues the dead bodies he has encountered, the lives lost. A man loses the power of speech and a radio talk show host nervously attempts to dumb down as her guest begins to wax philosophical.

Through sampling real voices, director Steven Cusson and the Company mine a seam of quirky, idiosyncratic poetry. To add to the pleasure of a short, concentrated, evening, each performer is a class act. Whether delivering one of the songs that springs from the material and which, by and large, steer well clear of the oh-so-pleased with itself cleverness of much cabaret material, or offering a precise and detailed characterisation, their craft neatly burnishes each moment.

Gone Missing may be a succinct show with a light touch but, as it predicts in its own ending, its apparent slightness masks its ability to remain with you long after the cast themselves have gone missing.

Performers: Damien Baldet
Maria Dizzia
Christina Kirk
Trey Lyford
Mark Saturno
Alison Weller
Piano: Duncan Wisbey

Director: Steven Cusson
Designer: Takeshi Kata
Lighting: Thomas Dunn
Costume: Sarah Beers
Choreographer: Jim Augustine
Composer/Lyricist: Michael Friedman
Writer: Peter Morris

2004-05-07 16:56:38