Trilogy of Madness
Production: The Trilogy of Madness
Venue: Drama Barn
Rating: ***
The white walls, floor and costumes of the Drama Barn reminded the audience of a padded cell in a mental institution, but it’s more logical purpose was to be transformed into a blank canvas, ready for the projections that covered three of its walls. Director Kate Shenton combined film and theatre in “A Trilogy of Madness”, presumably to inject energy, visual stimulus and modernity into these 19th Century short stories, a task that was truly embraced.
On the whole the ambitious projections worked well, though there were occasions when they seemed to distract too much attention from the actors. Perhaps more time and a larger budget would have meant that the projections were not repeated as much or set on 10 second loops; a factor which meant they lost some of their effect as each performance continued. During the final monologue, the projections served as the only source of light, occasionally leaving Harry De Moraville’s face in darkness, but other times allowing it to be eerily lit by the by the graphic image of a beating heart.
The production came alive with the superb performances of the three actors, particularly Joe Hufton whose manic eyes and deliverance made for uncomfortable laughter amongst the audience. His image was bravely projected onto all three walls for the duration of his monologue with tremendous effect, highlighting not one break in character.
The deterioration of mental state throughout each monologue could have been more developed, with one or two endings seeming quite abrupt. Similarly, the mini-intervals between each monologue (in order to reorganise the set) meant that the tension within the audience from the previous performance was lost by the time next one started. Overall the ambition and innovation of this production was admirable, even if I left feeling more intrigued than disturbed.
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