Post by bellboard27 on May 24, 2017 10:46:44 GMT
I went to this last week in Brussels, which was put on as part of an arts festival (Kunstenfestivaldesarts). I wonder if it may pop up elsewhere and, given its different staging, I thought others might be interested if it turns up somewhere near you!
The production was put on in a disused cinema, now the ‘Theatre Marivaux’, which conveniently has a large cavernous space. Inside this was built a large scaffolding construction. Inside the scaffolding was a large cylinder of white fabric. Together with a white floor and ceiling, this was the performance space (most of the clothing and props were also white and the lighting was bright). The audience ascended the scaffolding outside of this white cylinder to one of three levels above the floor. Each person had their own standing space and pushed their head through a slit in the fabric. As a result the performance space became populated with a series of disembodied heads around the white wall.
The show was created by Tania Bruguera, a Cuban performance artist for which this was her first piece of theatre. Brian Mendes (Hamm) and Jess Barbagallo (Clov) were both very good. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot.
The major downside to the staging was that anyone moving on the scaffolding would create noise. Several people did not last the course of the show and their leaving was annoying. I suspect some people were not prepared for Beckett and some might not have been able to put up with standing for the duration. However, I also wonder if the Kunstenfestivaldesarts had badly publicized the event. It was listed as “Tania Bruguera”, rather than “Endgame” and I would not be surprised if some turned up expecting to see a Cuban performance artist but got Endgame instead!
I found a Guardian article on this show when it was stage in Portugal last April:
www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/apr/11/tania-bruguera-samuel-beckett-endgame-boca-porto
So presumably it may find its way elsewhere.
The production was put on in a disused cinema, now the ‘Theatre Marivaux’, which conveniently has a large cavernous space. Inside this was built a large scaffolding construction. Inside the scaffolding was a large cylinder of white fabric. Together with a white floor and ceiling, this was the performance space (most of the clothing and props were also white and the lighting was bright). The audience ascended the scaffolding outside of this white cylinder to one of three levels above the floor. Each person had their own standing space and pushed their head through a slit in the fabric. As a result the performance space became populated with a series of disembodied heads around the white wall.
The show was created by Tania Bruguera, a Cuban performance artist for which this was her first piece of theatre. Brian Mendes (Hamm) and Jess Barbagallo (Clov) were both very good. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot.
The major downside to the staging was that anyone moving on the scaffolding would create noise. Several people did not last the course of the show and their leaving was annoying. I suspect some people were not prepared for Beckett and some might not have been able to put up with standing for the duration. However, I also wonder if the Kunstenfestivaldesarts had badly publicized the event. It was listed as “Tania Bruguera”, rather than “Endgame” and I would not be surprised if some turned up expecting to see a Cuban performance artist but got Endgame instead!
I found a Guardian article on this show when it was stage in Portugal last April:
www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/apr/11/tania-bruguera-samuel-beckett-endgame-boca-porto
So presumably it may find its way elsewhere.