PAST HALF REMEMBERED. NIE. On Tour to 21st October 2006
PAST HALF REMEMBERED. NIE. Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham. 12th October 2006.
Review: Mark Courtice 12th October 2006
European Family History
In the foyer, waiting for the start of Past Half Remembered, we are met with Klezmer music and Russian tea. The last time NIE toured England they offered vodka. The difference is significant as this time its from a more domestic perspective that this invigorating, funny, involving show comes.
Maria is 100 years old and as she gleefully points out the rest of the family are all now dead. The story of her marriage to a soldier wanders alongside the history of 20th century Russia. Through family parties, babies and domestic furniture, the broad sweep of politics and war make sense.
A company of six from Norway, Russia, France and Britain sing, play and act their way through this panoramic view and with sly jokes and clever techniques also make us believe in the intimate. The courtship of the two and a subsequent meeting with her family, although too drawn out, are funny and truthful.
NIE are important because they bring not just different accents to our stages but different languages. As the company switch effortlessly from French to Czech to Norwegian to Russian, it is possible to believe we are European, sharing a history, humanity and a theatre.
The theatrical techniques are assured and economical with a neat human smoke machine, clever use of minimal props (suitcases, crockery and umbrellas); for instance there's a moment when a saucer without a cup is a touching symbol of almost unbearable loss.
NIE's last show covered an even wider scope and felt more substantial for it. This one even toys with the notion that they are making the complicated too simple. Possibly they're right.
The company members play a whole range of instruments and sing beautifully; they handle props with nonchalant skill giving this show its very best chance of beguiling success. The performances switch from broadly funny to subtle and moving. Maria's a French firebrand while the character of her husband, being handed between two actors, gains the attributes of age and real depth in the process.
NIE deliver yet again with imagination and commitment to a worthwhile theatrical agenda.
The Company: Kjell Moberg, Tomas Mechacek, David Pagan, Iva Moberg, Anna Healey, Aude Henrye
Director Alex Byrne
Design Katerina Houskova
Movement Kasia Zaremba
Musical Direction David Pagan
2006-10-24 19:02:23