Rabbit: Brendan Cowell: Frantic Assembly, on tour to 28th November 2003
Rabbit: by Brendan Cowell. Frantic Assembly on tour to 28th November 2003
www.franticassembly.co.uk
2 hours 07 minutes, one interval
Review Mark Courtice: 14th October 2003, The Point, Eastleigh
This stew could do with a bit more spice.
Frantic keep changing. They have developed a style of performance which may have started from physical theatre, but having tried the musical, the dance piece and bespoke text they now approach things with a confidence and aesthetic all their own.
This time it's a UK premiere, an everyday tale of Australian media folk; a hit DJ, a burgeoning rap star, and a radio programme host. The central premise - unsuitable boy friend (although as a DJ and chef I would have thought it would only take skill in the garden to make him perfect) comes to meet tough paterfamilias is the stuff of boulevard comedy, the sensibility is heroin chic. Both in this context seem rather old fashioned. The eponymous supper-in-waiting is more tiresome running joke than intriguing touch of surrealism.
The Frantic Assembly style can really illuminate a text. Beautifully controlled intelligent movement makes things clearer; emotions are pointed up with tender, open, revealing physicality. With this slight piece, however, all this cleverness merely serves to point up the weaknesses of the text. Brendan Cowell's play is sentimental and wandering. The characters are stereotypes. The story seems interminable and the outcome never in doubt.
Despite there being much to enjoy, (Karl Sullivan as The Driver for example had the right combination of physical skill and real confidence with the text) this piece threw up some deficiencies. Helen Heslip was vocally too constrained to cope with Maddy, and David Siberry's Paul, full of intelligence and feeling, never sounded like a shock jock radio star (who have neither). Sam Crane's Spin was fun, but had no depth and so became increasingly irrelevant.
Direction, choreography and music were all careful, respectful and uninspired. Dick Bird's set with its white blocks and picture windows looked out at a generic mountain view - specific might have had more power. The windows also meant that most of most of the show post interval was played behind them so that all vocal subtlety was lost to a miked echo effect. Often it was harder to see, and people kept popping up and down, looking silly.
Spin: Sam Crane
Madeline Cave: Helen Heaslip
Kate Cave: Susan Kyd
Paul Cave: David Sibley
The Driver: Karl Sullivan
Directors and Choregraphy: Scott Graham, Steven Hoggett
Design: Dick Bird
Lighting Design: Giuseppe di lorio
Music: Deadly Avenger
Additional Music: Thomas Newman and Carter Burnwell
2003-10-20 17:36:37