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StoneCrabs Theatre Company
Hanjo
& Hell Screen
Photos by Marian Alonso
Written by Yukio Mishima
Directed by Franko Figueredo & Kwong Loke
Oval House Theatre
16 June – 4 July 2009
A review by Samuel John for EXTRA! EXTRA!
A double bill of ancient Japanese and Chinese folk tales re-visited by a legendary 20th Century playwright and realised by a contemporary international company in English. This is the ambitious yet mouthwateringly eclectic project StoneCrabs set out to execute. The cast of three Japanese women (one playing a man) struggle with vocal clarity. English not being their first language, both the audience and themselves, may have been more comfortable if the words were delivered in their native tongue. This would have allowed their stronger nuances of facial and physical expression to prevail. Nevertheless, the modest ensemble manages the space with grace and poise. They effortlessly glide over the Tatami mats, Masayo Okayasu displaying a captivating and authentic Noh gait. At times, they extract moments of true poignancy such as the heart-rending moment where the Geisha rejects her lost lover upon his return by over-riding her instincts of recognition. It was unclear whether the performances were fairly two-dimensional as a Japanese theatre device or otherwise. However, a story of such intricate and deep rooted psychological tendencies may have benefitted from greater depth of characterisation.
Photo by Marian Alonso The second offering; Hell Screen begins sharply with a blood curdling scream from a vulnerable woman as she narrowly escapes rape. The two narrators Stuart Brown and Flip Krenus then carry the action, doubling as energized story tellers and a multitude of incidental characters. One of whom is Ushisuke, a young man who also pines for the maiden. His hopeless attempts at winning her hand in marriage offer a much needed dose of humour. The father of the maiden is the court artist Yoshihide who is on the verge of completing his indulgent masterpiece; a mural depicting hell. Seamus Newham’s Lord Horikawa and Rufus Graham’s Yoshihide immediately make the audience sit up, injecting great authority and gravitas to the proceedings. Whilst the former depicts a man struggling to maintain his authority and hypocritical reason, the latter brilliantly captures a brazen artist whose indulgent ambitions blind rationality. His obsessive fixation with completing his egotistical creation excuses his debauched demands. The staging was confidently directed by Franko Figueredo and Kwong Loke, spatially balancing the actors around the court pond. The narrators further contribute to this physical sense of symmetry, offering their patter in stereo. Their contribution was fundamental to the climactic tragic moments, their words perfectly complimenting the main characters’ expressions of grief and turmoil. The Kabuki style dance performed byYuka You-ri Yamanaka is magnetic and beautifully completes the final tableaux. Both of these wonderfully twisted and complex fables of morality are easier written than dramatised. In spite of this StoneCrabs attack the tales with gusto and pathos in equal measure. Hell Screen in particular admirably transcends restrictions of language and culture, presenting a riveting tale of obsession and honour within a timeless context.
Photo by Marian Alonso
Box Office: 0207 582 7680
Tues – Sat 7.45pm £12.00, Concessions: £6.00
Oval House Theatre
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