Review: PSYCHODRAMA, Traverse Theatre

Art, metaphorically and literally, bleeds into life in Matt Wilkinson's Psychodrama, a one woman show with a powerhouse performance from an iridescent Emily Bruni.

Bruni plays a struggling actress duped into workshopping a role for a stage adaption of Hitchcock's classic thriller Psycho by a pretentious European director, only for the rug to be pulled from under her feet.

On the surface it is a thriller, but dig a little deeper and you'll find a subtle indictment of the brutal jungle that is the entertainment industry, a reflection on the nature of desire and the cost of failure in an unforgiving industry that prioritises appearance over everything else. Bruni's character mercilessly describes what everyone wears down to brand name and she flippantly recounts how she is able to succeed in auditions when she doesn't eat.

The aesthetic dialogue with Psycho is sexy and alluring. Imagery borrowed from the film is left just long enough to be deliciously ambiguous. For example, Bruni's character's mother was a schizophrenic echoing key plot points from the film. Familiarity with the classic thriller Psycho is not essential, but it certainly is helpful for context.

Wilkinson, who directs as well as writes, keeps Bruni shrouded in darkness throughout. The stage is sparse with only a high-top chair for Bruni. It's an unapologetically naked set, leaving Bruni vulnerable, but she excels in filling the space. Her performance is animalistic yet restrained, she is always aware of what dark emotions are bubbling beneath her surface but never gives too much away. She creates a visceral world layered with a lingering sense of danger. It is almost Kubrickian; her ice-cold stare could be straight out of Eyes Wide Shut.

The unpretentious yet intelligent lighting design excels in exacerbating this sense of danger. A simple red-light flash to evoke a film camera's beeping red dot. It takes on a surreal essence of its own, engulfing her in terror.

Unfortunately, the writing loses its rhythm towards the conclusion. A cryptic ending feels more underwritten than satisfying. Without giving too much away, the lack of detail and deliberate ambiguousness is unrewarding. It prevents the play from delivering the final gut punch it has been working towards, even though it wants the drama to linger under the skin long after you leave the theatre. It is a shame given Bruni's thrilling performance and Wilkinson's laser sharp directional focus.

Psychodrama is at the Traverse 16-21, 23-28 August

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