CASA Latin American Theatre Festival 2010 and Timbre4/Argentina present
Tercer Cuerpo (Third Wing)
Written and Directed by Claudio Tolcachir
Oval House Theatre
9 & 10 November 2010
CASA Latin American Theatre Festival continues through Nov. 14, 2010
A review by Bernie Whelan for EXTRA! EXTRA!
Five lonely people are holed up in a dingy, dilapidated office somewhere in a large, faceless corporation which cannot fire them, but can no longer employ them usefully. We are in the theatre of the absurd, where all attempts by these passionately driven individuals to strive for meaningful relationships are doomed to appear ridiculous and to be frustrated by every obstacle. The play begins with the cast squabbling over the unpacking of a suitcase full of office equipment onto a desk, high-lighting the human desire for clarity and order which will be met with forces outside their control that inevitably thwart their attempts to make meaningful choices in their lives.
The cramped, overcrowded, claustrophobic office environment with shelves full of files, and telephones and lights that work intermittently is brilliantly created by set designer Gonzalo Cordoba Estevez. Most of us will have spent some time in this kind of hell on earth, where Hector (Jose Maria Marcos) has an irrational attachment to a chair and Sandra (Melisa Hermida) struggles to impose order on her few feet of autonomy. Yet this is the only home Moni (Daniela Pal) has. She is the least territorial but most voluble character, who needs to know everyone's business because she has no life of her own. Meanwhile, a young couple sharing the stage, but on another plane, argue intensely about where their relationship is going. Manuel (Carlos Hernan Grinstein) is unable to return the unconditional love of Sofia (Magdalena Grondona), hating her in inverse proportion to the love and care she gives him. All of the characters come together in a violently cathartic scene where the ugly truth of their inter-dependence wrecks havoc on the set and on each other, after which they revert to speaking to interlocutors we cannot see as they stare out into the audience.
The play was performed in Spanish with subtitles appearing above and behind the set. At times the dialogue was so fast that I worried I was missing vital information but my neighbour told me, although perhaps 30% of the dialogue was missing from the subtitles, everything vital was there and the translation was very good. I had to work harder to follow what was happening but this somehow made the experience more rewarding, not less so, although I was afraid I would miss some of the incredibly expressive body language which made the play so entertaining. I got some of the jokes a bit late but audience reaction helped me keep up. Some innovative devices were used, such as having the cast take turns shouting 'Telephone!' to indicate that someone (usually Moni) should pick up the phone. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Moni and Sandra take over the task of writing Hector's oration to his dead mother. Another, where Moni tells the family back-story of the office suicide to the obvious delectation of Sandra is richly ironic and funny. Sandra complains bitterly about Moni's nosiness when it intrudes on her personal pain, but has no scruples about sharing in her gossip when it involves measuring the sad lives of others.
I cannot recommend this fantastic performance highly enough. I was moved to empathise with the characters across the language barrier and the play's international success proves I'm not alone in my admiration for this fine work by Claudio Tolcachir and his hugely talented company.
Oval House Theatre
52-54 Kennington Oval, London SE11 5SW
Tues and Weds 9th and 10th Nov, 7.45pm
CASA Latin American Theatre Festival continues through Sat. Nov. 14 2010
www.ovalhouse.com
Tickets: £12/£6 concs
Tel: 020 7582 0080
info@ovalhouse.com
Copyright © EXTRA! EXTRA All rights reserved
|