SEVERAL WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH REVENGE

Much diverse and interesting theatre falls under the umbrella term of contemporary performance. But occasionally a work will attempt to cover too much of the contemporary range of dramatic styles and themes, a fate which seems to have befallen multimedia and performance piece Several Words Associated With Revenge, directed by Daniel Santangeli and co-created by Genevieve Ganner, Mark Middleton, Carly Rees and Sarah Winter as part of the Metro Arts Artistic Program (the Independents).

Four actors (Giema Contini, Kieran Law, Genevieve Trace and Jacinta Yelland) share a scattered junkie’s playground with multimedia and visual artist Eric Bridgeman and live sound designer Thom Browning. Between these elements of performance, sound, and visual projections, the six on-stage personae negotiate the theme of ‘vengeance’, executing petty acts of abuse upon one another amongst a sound-and-visual-scape that floats across the Sue Benner Theatre walls.

Several Words had its genesis as a ten-minute piece based on Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, directed by Santangeli for last year’s 2high Festival (Backbone Youth Arts). Here, again Santangeli draws heavily on the infamously bloody story, making reference to Shakespeare’s dialogue and the countless gory and vengeful acts in that play.

This is certainly a useful starting point, from which much material could be exploited for contemporary audiences (see Queensland Theatre Company’s upcoming Anatomy Titus Fall Of Rome, by modern German playwright Heiner Muller). Indeed, in his director’s notes, Santangeli leads with his very personal reaction to the sight of injured children, instinctively seeking vengeance on their behalf. Who should be responsible for retribution, he asks? In a so-called ‘age of terror’, not to mention widespread media scapegoating, questions of blame and vengeance are pertinent and difficult ones for a dramatist to consider.

As Santangeli alludes to in his introduction, violence and injury underscore Several Words. Enacting fleeting images and stories, loosely connected by the work’s thematic thread, the four performers alternate between roles of victim and persecutor, enacting visceral acts of revenge upon one another; they scream, swear, punch, kick, and violate one another’s sense of privacy. The whole piece has the feel of an intensely dysfunctional share-house, and Ganner’s grungy set design seems to support this direction.

The lead performances were accomplished and clearly promising, the four actors taking strong control of the material and making the best of some weak segues between movements. However, the interactions between the performers never develop much further than petty and inconsequential abuse (much like a share-house, perhaps). Likewise, the piece’s direction seems under-developed; the scenes are disjointed, the style of performance inconsistent and, at times, too much self-referential commentary patronises an audience who try to engage with this piece’s themes. Tactics such as on-stage probings and wallopings with dead fish were employed by the ‘in-yer-face’ dramas of the 1990s designed to shock audiences into contemplating unquestioned social truths. But here these antics, while uncomfortable, did not confidently provoke deep thought.

Certainly, taking artistic risks and experimenting with dramatic form is to be applauded and encouraged. But this endeavour must be supported with strong dramaturgy to ensure the work’s focus equals its potential. At times I found myself wondering if the entire piece was a vengeful joke enacted on an unassuming audience; and for that, surely, there are some undeveloped creative decisions to blame.      

SEVERAL WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH REVENGE plays at the Sue Benner Theatre, Metro Arts, 109 Edward St, Brisbane, until September 6. For bookings phone 3002 7100 or visit www.metroarts.com.au

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