A Funeral For Don Quixote
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ROCKET @ DEMARCO ROXY (115)
"IT'S GOING to be sensational," proclaims a man, before we are ushered inside the dark and gothic Rocket and into the vast heart of this converted church. It's a formidable place to be at midnight, tremendously well suited to the sinister tale of ritualistic death that follows. A co-production of Central Saint Martins College of Art, this is an experimental piece of object-based theatre that relies on symbolist imagery, non-naturalistic language and a multi-media landscape to tell its story. However, quite what this story is about remains pretty abstract.
Based on Witold Gombrowicz's novel Cosmos and short story A Premeditated Crime, it supposedly tells the tale of a son who believes his father has been murdered. However, you would never get this unless you'd read the press release. Using images from Don Quixote (such as a clunking windmill), the play relies heavily on the nightmarish, ultimately very surreal, world it creates. We get treated to an autopsy, a hanging, some freaky puppets, an even freakier family and some truly disturbing masks.
Yet, while highly atmospheric, horrible and downright scary in places, unfortunately it often makes very little narrative sense. Mira Rychlicka is a wonderfully expressive, compelling actress. However, scenes are overly long and indulgent, with events taking ages to properly form.
A Funeral for Don Quijote is less sensational than it is disquieting, but the Rocket is a wonderful place for it. Beware that it will probably give kids (and me) nightmares for weeks to come.
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