(Above L to R) Mélanie Tanneau, Siva Nagapattinam Kasi, Cédric Mérillon. Photo: Theatraverse
Review by Jo Tomalin
Wonderfully Absurdist Bilingual Play…
Great Artists Steal
(L to R) Mélanie Tanneau, Siva Nagapattinam Kasi.
Photo: Theatraverse
New Absurdist bilingual French/English play Great Artists Steal written by Belfast based Seamus Collins and Directed by Joanne Allan is running at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival: The Space, Venue 45 on August 2-9, 11-16 and 18-23 at 8:35pm (20:35).
This fascinating well acted 50 minute play is set in the future after an unknown apocalyptic event and the three characters – The Woman, The Man and The Younger Man – seem to have regressed, prompting compelling questions about relearning how to live and the importance of inventing bread and even the wheel, in the spirit of Beckett with a touch of humor.
Great Artists Steal
(L to R) Mélanie Tanneau, Cédric Mérillon.
Photo: Theatraverse
The Theatraverse company from France specializes in French/English bilingual theatre and often teach bilingual theatre workshops or conferences with their productions. All three actors and Allan, the company director return to the Festival after a very successful and highly praised run of Theatraverse’s Rhinoceros at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe. In this 2014 production of Great Artists Steal Allan collaborated with author Collins on the development of the play, and her staging and design is influenced by Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota, Peter Brook, and Robert Wilson.
Great Artists Steal
(L to R) Siva Nagapattinam Kasi, Mélanie Tanneau.
Photo: Theatraverse
Allan’s cast of bilingual actors are energetic, physical and precise. The Woman played by Mélanie Tanneau, is a strong and complex character who (re)invented singing and bread. Tanneau is vibrant, bold, sensitive and at times clownesque. Siva Nagapattinam Kasi is wonderful as The Man, an inventor, who is solid and strong, a bit naïve but with an ego. Cédric Mérillon’s The Younger Man is smart and Mérillon plays him so well – fresh, lively, nuanced and charming. Interestingly, the relationships among the characters change as the characters realize they have feelings and inventions develop.
This is a production of quality and finesse, with a bit of quirkiness. Collins’s words play with language in a regressive and witty way, the actors are outstanding, and the director has created a spirited and stylish production that is ready for prime time. Go and see it!
For more information:
theSpace @ Venue45 (Venue 45)
63 Jeffrey Street
EH1 1DH
Box office: 0131 510 2381
Theatraverse
Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2014
Jo Tomalin Reviews Dance, Theatre & Physical Theatre Performances
