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drinks Monday 2 June 08
DUBLIN ... Colman Higgins describes the scope and history of Dublin Gay Theatre Festival ... and reviews two of its shows ... Down Dangerous Passes Road ... Confessions of A Mormon Boy /// LONDON ... film on now ... La Question Humaine / Heartbeat Detector /// BRIGHTON ... It's on till 26 May and here's at least 20 Things you might want to know about Brighton Fringe /// PEOPLE ... Who was there at Fringe Report's First Monday 5 May - photographs & article /// CULTURE ... One Culture ... film screening 30 May booking now ... details
The Hospital
Verdict: Shockingly brutal physical theatre
Dublin 05 – Project Upstairs – 27 Sept to 1 Oct 05 – 21.00 (22.00)
+ Matinee 1 Oct 05 12.00 (13.00)
The Hospital is set in a remote hospital where three female nurses have no patients and as a result, engage in a bizarre and violent set of power games with each other, while waiting for a patient to arrive.
Jo Stromgren Kompani specialise in the use of 'nonsense languages', and the nurses speak in what is described as a 'linguistic alias of Icelandic'. The audience is not meant to understand the words, but their tone is an aid to interpreting the exaggerated physical motions of the performers. Each nurse is in conventional uniform, but dishevelled and stained with blood.
The subtlety of the motion and mime is excellent. At times the performers appear possessed by the manifestation of their own frustrated desires. This shows up too in the dancing to various pieces of music. Jo Stromgren Kompani deliberately use actors who have not trained as dancers, which means that their dancing is jerky but more real.
Also, at times external sounds – such as a passing helicopter – are used at such a volume and resonance that they can rip through the soul.
The Hospital piece is shocking in its visceral brutality, but highly memorable.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Ingri Enger Damon. Guri Glans. Gunhild Aubert Opdal.
Company Credits: Director, Script, Choreography, Scenography – Jo Stromgren. Lighting Design – Stephen Rolfe. Light Engineers – Leila Berg, Lise Risom Olsen. Sound Design – Ken Ruben Theodorsen, Lars Ardal. Sound Engineer – Ken Ruben Theodorsen. Costume Design – Catrine Gudmestad. Photographer – Knut Bry. Administrative Director – Ann-Christin Danhammar. Project Manager – Tine Rude. Company – Jo Stromgren Kompani.
END
(c) Colman Higgins 2005
reviewed 1 October 05 / Project Upstairs
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008
