Review: THE YEATS PROJECT at IRISH CLASSICAL THEATRE

LEHRER DANCE SHINES IN NON-TRADITIONAL WORK

Three of Buffalo's esteemed arts organizations have teamed together to present what is being called THE YEATS PROJECT: TWO PLAYS BY W.B. YEATS. This non-traditional event may best be described as a piece of performance art incorporating the talents of the Irish Classical Theatre, Lehrer Dance and Torn Space Theatre. The result, while occasionally beautiful to watch, was often perplexing in it's dramatic propulsion of Yeats' two stories.

Yeats, who is best known for his Nobel prize winning poetry, also yearned to successfully develop literary works for the stage. Act I presents his troublesome parable play LAND OF HEART'S DESIRE and Act 2 AT THE HAWK'S WELL, whichbetter lends itself to dramatic interpretation in this evening of theatre.

Director Vincent O'Neill opens the first play with his own voice reciting the poetry of Yeats while a violinist roams the stage. Projections of wooded areas are interspersed with the dancers acting as the forest, who set the scene of the foreboding exterior of a house in the woods. A Christian family simply dressed is perplexed by newlywed Mary's obsession with a book of fairy stories and legends. An unexpected visit by a young faery child (Faith Walh) bewilders the household, and the child's blasphemous behavior upsets everyone but Mary (played by Arianne Davidow), who ultimately succumbs to her spell. Christian Brandjes and Mary McMahon are Mary's frustrated parents who invoke help from the older Father Hart, played by Gerry Maher. The child's objection to a crucifix in the home leads to the climax of the drama. Ms. Walh's portrayal embodied innocence upon first meaning but soon turned to master manipulator and upset the fabric of this household.

Most troublesome and challenging to the audience was the unconventional nature of the script, where prose is often replaced with more ethereal and florid bits of poetry, which when recited by multiple characters comes across as a disjointed language with perplexing meaning. So instead of straight forward dialogue, the spoken words in effect invoked an overall mood of the scene rather than further the drama. The characters often are given stylized movements which serve to accompany the actions of the dancers. Meanwhile the sinuous choreography of Jon Lehrer was fascinating to watch in it's contortions and synchronicity. Lehrer succeeds in establishing organized chaos among his dancers in the small playing space that represents the world outside of where the mortals live. Here the ensemble spritely dances as fairies and ultimately have Mary join in their joyous dance. Davidow's dancing with the Lehrer troupe was utterly convincing in her new found joy.

The second Act allowed Lehrer Dance to truly shine. An empty stage is set by the dancers and a lone veiled figure represents the guardian beside a magical well. Once every year water flows for a brief time, and those who drink from it are granted immortality. Staged with heavy references to Japanese NOH theatre traditions, two men in tandem act as the chorus, commenting and playing instruments to lend effects to the drama. The 2 main figures are masked, and represent an old man (David Oliver) who has been in desperate pursuit for of the water's magical powers for 50 years, and a young warrior, Cuchulain (Anthony Alcocer), who challenges him for the water. Cuchulain expertly brandishes a spear and does everything in his power to compete with the old man. Alcocer was truly imposing and his physicality and guttural screams melded beautifully with the dancers, who along with the guardian Hawk (expertly danced by Immanuel Naylor) manage to divert the two men from ever reaching the well at the proper time. This tale was much better suited for interpretative dance, and quite honestly could have been told as a ballet, without words. The dramatic music composed by Mary Ramsey served to heighten the drama. Design director Dan Shanahan's projections worked well with lighting designer Brian Cavanagh's effects.

Experimental theatre, where stories are often told through mixed media and a variety of performance styles is often challenging and THE YEATS PROJECT will most surely have it's admirers and well as nay sayers. When Yeats co-founded Ireland's Abbey Theatre Company audiences may not have been prepared for his language for telling a story, and 21st Century American audiences may equally be challenged by his unconventionality. While each one of the components of this venture are to be lauded, the sum often was less rewarding than it's individual parts.

THE YEATS PROJECT plays at Irish Classical Theatre from April 22 to May 8, 2016. Visit irishclassical.com or call 716-853-4282 for tickets.
Curtain times: Thursday- Saturday evening 7:30PM. Saturday Matinee 3:00PM, Sunday Matinee 2:00PM

To post a comment, you must register and login.