Captain Theatres production of this rarely performed piece is stylishly designed and features some committed performances. It tells the story of the relationships between a bunch of medical students in Vienna after Austrian decadence is obliterated by war. Sex and sexuality are used as weapons.
Benjamin Peters is quite good as the manipulator-in-chief, who causes mayhem as he experiments wilfully in screwing up the lives of his friends and in particular the maid (a nice performance by Sophie Dickson). The rest of the performances are patchy, and a lot of the text badly mis-inflected, which suggests some of them dont actually understand what they are saying. This is a pity, because the dynamic of the plot and Bruckners point is hard enough to grasp as it is. Getting through any of his plays demands variation in tone and pace and more humour than is on display here. Director Hanna Wolf uses the space quite well, apart from the fact that too many scenes take place on the floor, rendering them invisible from my seat. What she and the actors dont do is take us coherently through the ups and downs and motivations of these people. Theres a lot of shouting and sneering and snogging, but its all pitched at the same level.
There is a program note to help. Apparently this play is an education in the beautiful, terrible price we are willing to pay to shed our skin. It celebrates, mourns and resigns itself to quiet exits and untimely endings whilst all the while, in equal measures, relishes and laments the perpetual cost of love.
Thats cleared that up, then.
