Review #4: DFoA: 'Souvenirs' presented by Wrong Tree Theatre
"one thing is for sure, if you go and see this play you will not be bored"
A surrealist story of a botanist and her talking cat, ‘Souvenirs’ combines improvised comedy, non-verbal interpretive mime and experimental story telling technique. From the use of pom-pom snails to anthropomorphic plugs, I was constantly surprised by the creativity and imagination behind the action. The non-verbal communication of narrative through the use of various props was intelligent and pleasantly whimsical. The rainforest effect in particular made for an extremely atmospheric experience, the umbrella opening to signify blossom made me feel strangely calm. The mime acting was similarly well implemented where it contributed to the feel of location. However, the persistent attention grabbing of the mimes amongst the crowd was more than a little uncomfortable, especially early on in the piece. The prospect of audience interaction seemed exciting when mentioned prior to the play, but lead to an anxious hour of clutching my hot tea and hoping that no one would break their (or my) neck by falling on the vast assortment of clutter in the room. As with the play itself, Cafédral was a somewhat mixed choice of venue. Upon entry I was delighted with the erratic mix of chairs and personal proximity of the audience and the cast. Things were definitely improved by the offer of a free cup of tea. For the green house setting, the venue worked seamlessly in its quirky but cozy aesthetic.
Yet as the play progressed, I couldn’t help feel that the practicalities of such a small space began to make the play a little irresponsible. Continuously, the stumbling and fumbling of the play really offset the surrealism and escapism. I genuinely thought that a man was about to fall and die at one point as he climbed over a chair in front of me. Props were tripped over, knocked over, and all I could think when paper was scattered was that it was going to take a while to hoover up.
Overall, I wasn’t sure whether the clumsiness was intentionally designed to contribute to the absurdist theme of the show or whether it was simply just under-rehearsed in the reality of the venue. Indeed, just as I became actually invested in the story, all was thrown aside with reckless abandon. In an extremely dissatisfying conclusion. The play jokes that the whole journey had been a bit of a waste of time and at this point I couldn’t help agree.
The untidiness of the play didn’t contain itself simply to the physical problems either. The play had large pacing issues, attempting an ambitious, fast paced plot which fell dead almost as soon as it sprang to life. Ideas that had the potential to go somewhere, that seemed important and unique, were dropped with no explanation half way through. The ending was a narratologist's nightmare. Don’t get me wrong, some of the greatest pieces defy resolution. Usually I have no problem with an ending where nothing is achieved and no lessons are learnt- I’m a massive Becket fan girl. Yet with the gaping plot holes and unanswered questions, ‘Souvenirs’ could not be content with its own meaningless and attempted to instil itself with meaning in the last five minutes.
Overall, I would suggest that ‘Souvenirs’ was, at best, a bit of a mixed bag: intense, confusing and I felt very on edge that somebody was going to stand on me all of the way through. Devised theatre is always tricky and Wrong Tree’s use of it was admirable and effective in part, but ultimately disappointing in its dissatisfactory plot.
Photograph by Wrong Tree Theatre
