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A
provocative take on mental decline
WOYZECK
Lion and Unicorn
ACT Provocateur’s double bill shines a light on different kinds of
mental deterioration in Georg Buchner’s Woyzeck and a stage adaptation of
Persona, Ingmar Bergman’s intriguing 1966 film. Buchner based Woyzeck on a
real story of a soldier who ends up murdering his common-law wife, Marie.
The reason for his actions remain unclear in this production.
Is he being driven mad by jealousy, or is it an overwhelming feeling that
being poor means he is powerless against the drumbeat of the upper classes?
The adaptation of Persona is far more enjoyable.
Powerfully acted with scant props and a neutral stage design, the piece is
driven entirely by Lucinda Forth’s strong performance.
She is Nurse Alma, employed to look after Elisabeth Vogler, an actress who
suffers a mental breakdown and refuses to talk. So Alma
talks and begins to take on the role of the patient as Vogler’s silence
forces her to reveal more and more about herself.
Much as in the film, the personalities of the nurse and the patient begin
to merge.
Are they the same person, trying to decide which persona to take on, or is
this a study of female relationships and love?
Bergman’s film translates surprisingly well onto the stage and this raw and
gripping portrayal of the psyche is treated with imagination by resident
director Dumle Kogbara.
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