REVIEW: Les Enfantes Terribles
A strange and lovely play runs the East Village Basement
Molly Serenduke
Michael Gardner's adaptation of Jean Cocteau's Les Enfants Terribles is a quality collaboration amongst talented artists, yielding a unique, entertaining piece about play and the absurdity of what it is to be human.
Staged in the small, intimate East Village Basement, the space enhances the use of an interactive and almost immersive element. It's interesting watching a scene and the actor is almost touching you, like you’re not even there. In fact, at one point, Rutger Scott’s Paul berates Victor Gao’s Gerard for addressing the audience: “What are you doing? Don’t talk to them. They’re pretend.” Each actor does a beautiful job delivering poetic dialogue that's been nicely adapted and reshaped by Michael Gardner. Rutger Scott and Maysie Jane deliver particularly sultry performances as siblings and terrors.
Underpinning the entire experience is a singular vision. The unpredictable twists and turns in the plot and visuals are a testament to a single, cohesive idea about what this play is and what world is being created. In a theatrical landscape where being didactic extends into pieces where the sole point is to bash you over the head repeatedly with some agenda point, it's refreshing to see a piece that has the intention to simply provide you with something beautiful. You walk into the East Village Basement and you're taken away somewhere else completely.
One thing I kept enjoying about the piece was how it provides you room to dream and think while maintaining your attention and keeping a positive pace. Some parts are a bit confusing, and there are moments where the piece loses steam a bit, but it always brings you back.
Even though the play is strange and sort of menacing at times, Gardner's approach to romanticizing this piece works well, and the music throughout helps to emphasize this. Les Enfants Terribles is a nicely realized piece of theater.
Comments