Rémy was a confusing experience that passed before my eyes at what felt like light speed. It is a play about a soldier in Napoleon’s army who narrates his experiences. Now in prison, nobody knows exactly how old he is, but they think he might be between 30 and 40 years old. His reminiscing mostly centres on Napoleon, his experiences at home and his sweetheart.
This is a solo show about a man, played by a woman. One of the major problems of this production is that the actress, though talented and energetic, simply isn’t very convincing as a 30-year-old man. However, even when suspending disbelief entirely, there are a number of other issues. Her portrayal of the various characters beyond Rémy lack depth; the transition to playing Napoleon is clearly demarcated through the use of props, but the acting doesn’t change enough to create the impression of seeing a new character. Moreover, the use of props – especially the pot plant and bench – to create different environments isn’t always convincing. Although a couple of images are striking, such as when Rémy hangs a sack from the bench to indicate the number of people hung during the campaigns, they are not the predominant impressions.
These problems are perhaps ultimately an issue of direction. The audience, instead of seeing new characters, always has the impression that they are seeing Rémy playing at being other people. The overall performance has a number of very child-like qualities due to Rémy’s incredible playfulness in the way he tells his story. Although not necessarily a bad thing, it wasn’t clear whether this was happening on purpose or not. Undoubtedly, the whole thing would really benefit from slowing down a little so that the audience could have the time to immerse itself in a story that otherwise passes by in the blink of an eye. As it stands, it was difficult to appreciate the various poignant moments of the script or fully take in the various interesting themes that it negotiates.
