Experimental reviewing for experimental theatre. Well, we thought we were being experimental.
For Young Jean Lee's experimental theatre piece Pullman, WA, we, the Spoonfed theatre team have decided to get a bit experimental ourselves. Oh yes, we can be innovative and abstract too. OK, now that that's been bigged up too much, what we did was have two of us review the same show. Naima and Emma trekked to Chelsea together (and did not get completely and hopelessly lost, no siree, not us) to see the first piece of theatre performed at Chelsea Theatre's SACRED festival.
Here's what Naima thought:
Pullman, WA pronounced “Pullman, Wa” by artistic types is the small home town of Young Jean Lee. Anything awkward and uncomfortable reminds her of Pullman and she's poured a lot of that angst into her theatre piece. So perhaps it's odd that I didn't really pick up on anxiety exactly. Frustration – sure; confusion – hell yeah; and that somewhat clichéd universal search for how to live.
However, Lee's take on how to live is very cleverly constructed. Addressing the audience directly, three flawed characters express their thoughts on a plethora of existential matters, including the ways we beat ourselves up and the ways we escape it all. Though at times Pullman, WA is completely incoherent, it persistently hits the right notes and triggers a series of internal questions and opinions in the minds of its audience. In this sense it does what it sets out to do. It insults, it confuses, it annoys and it provokes thought. Don't expect a story but prepare for something honest, frustrating and abstract. There's a lot of talk of unicorns, mermaids and ball sacks and even more on the hurt and pain we cause ourselves. Lee's chief success is finding humour and something very personable in all of life's contradictions.
And a little elaboration from Emma...
In our conversation earlier this month, Young Jean Lee said that people who like her shows are the people who obsess, and 'super together' people hate her shows: it's easy to see why. For “super together people” it must be a bit bewildering having someone tell them that they are too mean to themselves, that they should treat themselves like a loved friend, and that they shouldn't beat themselves up for their failings and for being unable to live up to their aspirations. On the other hand, when we are told that “you are you” by an actor who struggles against his ineptitude to find the right words, the not-so-together people will surely understand what he's trying to get at.
“I know how to live!” He exclaims repeatedly. And, despite knowing that no one can tell us how to live or how we can make ourselves happy, we hope that this inept man will be able to tell something new. Whether he does or not depends on the person, but it does emphasise what most people know: that we are our own harshest critics.
And to conclude:
We risk being branded screwed up by admitting that we both enjoyed the piece. It's the mark of a good piece of experimental theatre that it delivered on different levels to each of us. Though neither of us is entirely sure about the numerous mentions of anatomically improbable activities with ball sacks.
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