Roberto Zucco

Translating this play by the legendary Koltès is a creative enterprise that is certainly worthwhile but not without its challenges. The spine-chilling story of the murderous rampage of a psychopath creates a space to philosophically examine themes such as hypocrisy, possessiveness, gendered power dynamics, and the emphasis on the material nature of existence. These concepts are all forcefully explored in this play. Crimp’s translation effectively conveys Koltès’s unusual poetic rhythms, his harsh psychological assessments and the brutality of his hard hitting dialogue. The difficulty is in determining the appropriate register for his ground-breaking, avant-garde style of theatre.

This is courageously and magnificently addressed in this very admirable performance. The text is inherent with a precarious fine line between black humour and grim realism, and finding the right balance between humour and drama is not always achieved in this production. However, the very strong performances and the striking staging of this play bring the intriguing and alluring elements of this story to the forefront. The large ensemble cast play a variety of parts with an impressive level of energy and gusto. The facial expressions of Zucco (Ben Shuman) exude pure evil, and the flamboyance of all the various characterisations are beautifully mirrored in gesture and costuming. Interesting and innovative use of the performance space also adds to the fine quality of this production.

Patricia Di Risio