My life with the Dogs
Directed by Alex Byrne
Theatre Company - NIE
Venue – BAC
Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for The British Theatre Guide
Thursday 17th April, 2008
It is always exciting when a production is brave and takes risks and whilst I would never discourage a company from doing this, unfortunately these risks do not always pay off.
Through a variety of mediums My Life with the Dogs explores the story of a young Russian boy, Ivan, who ends up on the streets one night whilst his drunken mother is preoccupied with his “Uncle Boris”. Whilst on the streets he is taken in by a pack of dogs and over a period of time he slowly develops canine attributes of his own.
This devised piece uses its imagination and in the same breath asks the audience to do the same. We are told to forget that we are in South West London; to forget that we are seeing a 46 year old actor from Manchester and instead see a four year old boy from Russia. Robert Orr as the young Ivan made this easy with his wide eyed innocence and sense of childish adventure.
This production is almost a text book illustration of a “post-modern” performance with its pastiche of influences and it is here that the problem lies and is ultimately its downfall. Guitars, an accordion, a piano and drums (made out of upturned plastic bins and a silver tray) produce the inventive soundtrack which initially works well. With the use of a mega phone to enhance and distort the sound they are the radio, the TV, the buzzer on the door. Fans with shredded paper blowing in front of them create a snow storm whilst coloured lights, operated by the performers create the illusion of a shop window. However this overdose on theatrical devises eventually becomes numbing and unspectacular.
There is a similar dilemma with the performance style. Initially drawn in by the improvised nature of the piece it is interesting to watch the performers casually switching between “character” and “actor”; acknowledging the audience with funny asides. However the trick is knowing when enough is enough and eventually the piece begins to feel as if we were watching a rehearsal as the performers indulge themselves with scenes that stretch on and on as they play for laughs with their adlibbing.
As is often the danger when the director (in this instance Alex Byrne) is also in the piece it can lack that vital third eye and sadly My Life with the Dogs is a prime example of that.
There is little structure and thus the aim of the piece is completely lost. Did they intend to portray the harshness of contemporary life; to dismiss notions of the Russian stereotype; or simply show the plight of a young boy? Perhaps they wanted to communicate all of these ideas but it is hard to know as unfortunately the message vanishes in a whirlwind of theatricality.
Directed by Alex Byrne
Theatre Company - NIE
Venue – BAC
Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for The British Theatre Guide
Thursday 17th April, 2008
It is always exciting when a production is brave and takes risks and whilst I would never discourage a company from doing this, unfortunately these risks do not always pay off.
Through a variety of mediums My Life with the Dogs explores the story of a young Russian boy, Ivan, who ends up on the streets one night whilst his drunken mother is preoccupied with his “Uncle Boris”. Whilst on the streets he is taken in by a pack of dogs and over a period of time he slowly develops canine attributes of his own.
This devised piece uses its imagination and in the same breath asks the audience to do the same. We are told to forget that we are in South West London; to forget that we are seeing a 46 year old actor from Manchester and instead see a four year old boy from Russia. Robert Orr as the young Ivan made this easy with his wide eyed innocence and sense of childish adventure.
This production is almost a text book illustration of a “post-modern” performance with its pastiche of influences and it is here that the problem lies and is ultimately its downfall. Guitars, an accordion, a piano and drums (made out of upturned plastic bins and a silver tray) produce the inventive soundtrack which initially works well. With the use of a mega phone to enhance and distort the sound they are the radio, the TV, the buzzer on the door. Fans with shredded paper blowing in front of them create a snow storm whilst coloured lights, operated by the performers create the illusion of a shop window. However this overdose on theatrical devises eventually becomes numbing and unspectacular.
There is a similar dilemma with the performance style. Initially drawn in by the improvised nature of the piece it is interesting to watch the performers casually switching between “character” and “actor”; acknowledging the audience with funny asides. However the trick is knowing when enough is enough and eventually the piece begins to feel as if we were watching a rehearsal as the performers indulge themselves with scenes that stretch on and on as they play for laughs with their adlibbing.
As is often the danger when the director (in this instance Alex Byrne) is also in the piece it can lack that vital third eye and sadly My Life with the Dogs is a prime example of that.
There is little structure and thus the aim of the piece is completely lost. Did they intend to portray the harshness of contemporary life; to dismiss notions of the Russian stereotype; or simply show the plight of a young boy? Perhaps they wanted to communicate all of these ideas but it is hard to know as unfortunately the message vanishes in a whirlwind of theatricality.
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