14 April 2008

Bliss (Felicite) by Olivier Choiniere & translated by Caryl Churchill

Oracle - Hayley Carmichael
Cosmetic Salesperson - Brid Brennan
Display Assistant - Justin Salinger
Manager - Neil Dudgeon

Directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins
Designed by Jeremy Herbert

This version performed upstairs at the Royal Court with no interval and no seat allocation.

I saw two films yesterday but now, two weeks later I cannot remember much about them to write my notes!

We were all given ASDA tabards with the name 'Oracle' and the title 'Cashier' on the badge. When the curtain came back we were looking at three actors strangely framed who had the same tabards but their badges read in reverse. We were looking into a huge mirror and behind them were the cubicles of a public toilet we presume to be in the staff area of an ASDA store. It all worked very well.

This was so clever that the main device crept up on me and snuck into the back door of my brain. Apparently about the intensity of fandom and the lines it can cross, then at some point which even after much deliberation, I cannot quite place in the time-line, it takes a more sinister, real-life turn. It's an odd but thought provoking piece and I think Caryl Churchill was an inspired choice for the translation.