Reviewed Tuesday 9th October 2013
Gavin Robertson once again brings his physical theatre training, with Lecoq, Kemp and Gaulier, to bear on
Crusoe: No Man is an Island, an exploration of human isolation that compares that isolation within modern society, where one can be alone in a crowd, with that isolation of Robinson Crusoe, shipwrecked on a desert island.
To the original music of Danny Bright the performance begins with a cavalcade of passing strangers, caught in the rain, trying to hail a taxi, failing to connect with a girl in a dance club, and then, with the sounds of the ocean creeping in, Robertson has taken us away from the crowded city of today, carried us back in time, and we are caught in a storm at sea in a sailing ship, brilliantly recreated in miniature using his hands to form the sails of the battered ship. This is the ship that will founder and be split asunder, shipwrecking Robinson Crusoe.
That, however, gradually comes later as that tale, all told through physical theatre alone, is fragmented, the interludes filled with more episodes of those isolated lives in the city, and the needs of those people for company, every bit as desperate as Crusoe's needs are. In contrast, these episodes blend both monologues and wordless depictions that combine to paint a powerful picture.
An empty stage, bar one small cube, four suspended lamps, some spot on lighting from Stephen Deans, and the soundtrack, are all that Robertson needs to create times, locations, and moods. Everything comes from his imaginative portrayal of a diverse group of men.
There is the man suffering the onset of Alzheimer's disease at the early age of 43, who cannot remember the most recent years of his life. Then the "other man" in a relationship who finds that he is surplus to requirements, and finds that dating is not easy. Another is now a hit man, but one who asks his victim three very interesting questions before he carries out his duties. Then one more man puts things in perspective by discussing the universe, one of many, Bounce Theory as an alternative to the Big Bank Theory, time, space and all things astronomical.
The links between these people and Crusoe are teased out, bit by bit, some of the threads eventually coming together to tie together some of the characters. The intricacy of this work is astounding. There is certainly black comedy at times, but also some greatly poignant moments, and some serious drama. The audience were captivated, reduced to silence for many of the saddest and most intense moments.
Robertson transits effortlessly between his various characters, and in and out of his silent reading of the Crusoe story, in a heartbeat, making this performance another that just has to been seen while the opportunity is here. Each characterisation is superb and fully realised, and they move the emotions of the audience in many ways during the course of the work. Each character has a distinct voice, demeanour, gait, and, with nothing external to aid him, Robertson astounds with his ability to go around and around playing each of his "cast" with unerring accuracy.
He makes his point clearly that, although it might be true that "no man is an island", it can often feel that way. Just as Crusoe throw into the sea his message in a bottle, or follows a line of footsteps, hoping that they are not his own, in a vain hope of finding company, so too do members of modern society find themselves isolated, throwing electronic bottles and follow binary footsteps on Internet dating sites, and through social media, just as desperately, yet hopefully, as Robinson Crusoe.
We rarely have a chance to see somebody as exceptionally skilled and talented in physical theatre as Gavin Robertson and, as with the other three performances so far, all students and practitioners of theatre should be fighting for tickets, especially those with little or no training writing and performing one person shows, or in physical theatre. All lovers of top quality theatre should also be in that melee, fighting for tickets.
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