For a work in progress, Into the Unknown was a complete and visceral experience for the audience. No one left the theatre unmoved or bored. I congratulate the work ethic of the artists involved as well as the diligence of Artistic Director Tom Gutteridge and writer Ian Wilding when the process became difficult while discovering what this piece was all “about”.
Funnily enough, what was unclear then, was performed on the day in a concise and powerful manner, regardless of its abstract undertaking. Various scenarios in public transport as well as people’s thoughts, feelings, desires and most notably their interactions with one another informed the performance and its vast ideas.
From the moment I entered the theatre space, I found myself confronted with actors in bodysuits and masks – to which I later realized was part of a post-wreckage scene. When all things went underway, the four performers, Eleanor Bally, Joshua Lynzaat, Olivia McCombe and Mattie Young crowded around individual audience members and studied and discussed them as a work of art. Having been labeled a number of interesting things, I could see that this aspect had suddenly absorbed the audience members into the space.
I was impressed with the pallet presented to me, especially the captivating scene in which a penniless Eleanor Bally approached the well-off Olivia McCombe and Mattie Young for $2. For the audience, this scene hailed back many memories of being approached for money; we all waited in bated breath in wonder of what these two women would do. What was most engaging was the intelligent and persistent manner in which Bally’s character questioned the women’s principles and morals while exploring her own motives.
The shifting of scenes was rapid and effortless, requiring great precision and physical discipline from the four performers and lighting operator. The intensity of the characters and their relationships had often made us as the audience, laugh, consider (and applaud) – most notably Joshua Lynzaat, whose stuttering train-boozer both amused and disgusted. Through the interior monologues of the personalities on the tram, the performance took a voyeuristic journey into the passions and depravity of the individual.
This was a performance that resonated in my mind hours after having witnessed it. On my own tram ride home, I found myself considering those around me, wondering what they were hoping for in their day; where they placed their shoes at the end of their working day, and what their expectations and dreams of life were.
In the great scheme of things, I was moved by this production. Simply for that, this piece promises great things for the Union House Theatre in years to come, if it can continue to deliver such bold, intriguing and insightful performances.
Review by Leeor Adar
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Posted Thursday 27 August, 2009. Updated Thursday 27 August, 2009.
