WATER. To 3 November.

London

WATER
by Filter.

Lyric Theatre Hammersmith To 3 November 2007.
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat 3 Nov 2.30pm.
Captioned 1 November.
Post-show discussion 25 Oct.
Runs 1hr 30min No interval.

TICKETS: 08700 500511
www.lyric.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 20 October.

Fluid ingenuity in construction and production.
Filtered through this show there’s a drip of Complicite here, a drop of Robert Lepage there: technology, projections, a soundscore created onstage, events located in distant parts of the world invoking recondite scientific theories that link to human relationships. And a low-key acting style, with voices distanced by low-level amplification, that undercuts emotional involvement.

But we don’t complain about new two-act plays set in a living-room because “it’s been done before.” And Filter theatre company show ingenuity, in their use, for instance, of live effects to create the drip of water first on a floor, then a saucepan, and finally a cloth placed in the saucepan.

Technology dominates the staging, rather than representational scenery. The nearest to that is a sliding glass-panel which creates the studio where an English academic visits his radio-presenter brother on a visit to Vancouver.

Meanwhile, there’s someone setting out to achieve a new record for the deepest deep-sea dive. Twice he descends. As his final journey takes him ever-deeper, the descent is measured out in voices while he advances over a dark stage with a bright lamp that waves across the auditorium.

His initial close-run failure to make the record descent is put down to the costs of a personal relationship. In this theatre, points about human relationships are made through distancing, non-realistic means. And because of the emotional coolness the relationships themselves come over less as a matter of individual emotions than the situations characters’ interactions create.

A web of relationships bind the characters to a wider theme; the person blamed for the diver’s failure is professionally a political adviser working hard at a Climate summit to achieve what others in her delegation seek to undermine. Commercial sponsorship of universities has as corrosive an impact as political trafficking.

Water’s complex in plot, as in the technique of David Farr’s production. The opening shows water molecules as human figures. The liquid molecules stick together. The question is whether actual people can do so on this planet. The stories that are told are not a counsel of despair. But they don’t hold out too much hope.

Performers: Oliver Dimsdale, Victoria Moseley, Tim Phillips, Ferdy Roberts.

Director: David Farr.
Designer/Costume: Jon Bausor.
Lighting: Jon Clark.
Sound/Composer: Tim Phillips.
Video: Andi Watson.
Assistant director: Jamie Rocha Allan.
Assistant video: Pip Rhodes.

2007-10-25 12:21:46