Concept crushes content in Jessica Carri's physical theatre production.
Smock Alley Theatre
Mar 24-29
I don't have much to say about Adventures in Failure.
Jessica Carri's production sees three mute individuals in the store room of a lamp shop scrap and scuffle.
It's unclear what the consequences are of such actions. The problem is in its physicality. Carri has envisioned a wordless romp but the movement is so fuzzy and incoherent that it's hard to derive anything from it. When meaning does reach us, it feels like nothing is at stake.
In terms of design, a guileless guitar track loses its swagger trying to lead us through. The luminosity of Aaron Kelly's set and lighting, however, has a spark to it.
Adventures has the feel of a theatre graduate's production, teeming with theories about form and non-traditional theatre (and before we roll our eyes, let's admit that those of us who studied theatre in college have done the same). I hold out for the day that Carri does bring me on an adventure that is successful in experiencing theatre differently.
What did everybody else think?
