My first Adelaide Festival of Arts review for this year was Go Down, Moses, performed in the Dunstan Playhouse at the Adelaide Festival Centre by Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio.Direction, set, costumes, and lighting design are all by Romeo Castellucci, and the text, of which there is not a great deal in this very visual work, is by Claudia Castellucci and Romeo Castellucci. Although the spoken words are in Italian, English interpretations are projected onto a scrim curtain that is in place across the front of the stage during the entire performance, giving the work something of an ethereal, dream-like feel.
The title is derived from Exodus 9:1 "Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me." Moses, according to the story, is the only man to have looked directly into the face of God. Whether you are a firm believer in every written word, no matter how many times that they have been translated, interpreted, revised, and rewritten to suit changing religions and political systems, or whether you treat the whole thing as a fantasy novel, makes no difference. This is not by any means a literal retelling of the story of Moses, nor does it delve into whether or not the character ever even existed.
With the house lights still up a group of four men and three women in stylish dress walk onto the stage, initially appearing to be wandering around aimlessly, then revealing that the whole thing is, in fact, tightly choreographed. This extended sequence goes on for some time until the house lights finally go down, then continues for a while longer, the whole thing carried out to a soundscape that might be breathing, or waves on the shore, but distorted and interrupted by short sharp bursts of sound, particularly when moments of violence appear. The composer of the music, which strongly accompanies and enhances every scene, is by Scott Gibbons.
A fade to black and the lights come up brightly on a stark toilet where a girl, naked beneath her blood-stained skirt, is bleeding profusely from internal injury after having had her baby. She is in great distress, but does not respond when somebody knocks at the door and attempts to open it. Another fade to black and up again to find that she is on a policeman's office, silent, traumatised, ignoring his questions about what she has done with her baby. Eventually she speaks. We are in Ancient Egypt and she has given her son, whom she names Moses, to the River Nile, and predicts that he will live as any other citizen, even becoming a Priest of Osiris, before revealing the existence of God, a concept beyond the policeman's understanding. She speaks of everybody being in slavery, but he has no idea to what she is referring.
There are other images that appear briefly, not involving the members of the cast, and these, too, have an impact on the mind and the imagination of the viewer.
Next, she is in a hospital, being given a full CT scan. She disappears into the machine and we are next in a cave with a group of prehistoric dwellers, one of whom has a dead child that, I think, she buried. From seats at the side of the auditorium that part was obscured by the set, sightlines from the extremities of this venue being a constant problem. Low lighting also made some details rather difficult to see.
This, for what little it tells you, is the synopsis of this ninety-minute production. What I cannot tell you is how powerful and emotionally charged this work is in performance. The audience is almost bombarded with wave after wave of stark visual imagery, metaphors to unravel, concepts to absorb, and huge emotional levels. My guest was so profoundly moved that she sat silently, motionless throughout the applause and curtain calls, unable to break free of the impact of the performance to contribute to the accolades, and taking some time to recover ready to depart. This is, literally, a stunning production.
Rascia Darwish, Gloria Dorliguzzo, Luca Nava, Stefano Questorio, and Sergio Scarlatella are the performers in this remarkable and ground-breaking production, making its Australian premiere here in Adelaide. This is the sort of exciting and cutting edge production that we have come to expect from our Adelaide Festival of Arts, over the many years that it has been a major part of the extensive and vibrant Arts scene in this city.
These five performers, particularly the two women, the mother of Moses and the bereaved cave-woman, who turn the story on its head and give us the female view, as opposed to the male-dominated perspective of the Church, tear the audience out of its complacency, confronting it with huge concepts in many small ways.
There is no narrative, but many ideas and irresistible provocations to determine your own interpretations of the work. It is not something that can be easily explained, and any explanation is up for discussion and either agreement or drastic opposition. This is an experiential work and so you need to go and experience it for yourself. Be prepared to be challenged and to be moved.
Watch a few moments from this work, below.
Photo: Guido Mencari
