Cockpit Theatre Archives - Page 12 of 19

The Ideal Woman

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed – 11th August 2019

★★

“whilst the Cognatus Theatre troupe clearly have good intentions, ‘The Ideal Woman’ brings nothing new to the conversation”

With the ‘time to make herstory’ tagline, and lengthy choruses of ‘I feel guilty (when I don’t smile, when I defend myself etc)’, ‘My mother told me (not to climb, to wear nice clothes, not to ask questions etc), and ‘We are rising, we are burning red’, the intention of ‘The Ideal Woman’ is clear: This century’s women’s movement is on a precipice of (hopefully) great change; moving from a very old restraining structure of what a woman should be, to something resembling equality and liberation.

But as much as I’m obviously a supporter of the ‘time’s up’/’me too’ campaigns, it won’t do to just state one’s belief in the women’s movement a bunch of times and call it content.

The setting consists of a web made of red thread, tied at four corners (presumably because women are caught in a society-spun web of restraint?) Four women approach from each corner of the room in beige underwear holding red candles and singing in a tribal chorus. For the next forty minutes some kind of narrative unfolds: starting with a tribute to motherhood, followed by a christening of some kind, and then a playground scene. There are moments of lucidity, but it’s mostly made up of abstract vignettes: Vinna Law performs a short aerial hoop routine, for example, whilst begging someone unseen for forgiveness; Morgana Baldissera approaches, kisses her on the forehead and wishes Law dead.

It’s simultaneously too abstract and lacking depth. The opening sequence was so stereotypically ‘performance art’, I assumed it was a parody, but it couldn’t have been more earnest. In fact this is its saving grace. It’s clear the whole cast has complete faith in their performance and the message they’re conveying – they are not cynical in any way. But, I’m afraid, stating that women have had a rough time of it, but that they’re not going to take it anymore, is old hat. At one point they straight up quote what I recall was a popular sign at the 2017 Women’s March, “We are the heirs of the witches they tried to burn.” This appears to have no reference to the show’s content, except that it’s an ‘empowering message’.

Unfortunately, whilst the Cognatus Theatre troupe clearly have good intentions, ‘The Ideal Woman’ brings nothing new to the conversation. It is only forty minutes, however, so there’s not much lost in dropping by and having a look for yourself.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Vinna Law

The Ideal Woman

Cockpit Theatre until 14th August as part of Camden Fringe 2019

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

The Distance You Have Come | ★★★★ | October 2018

Don’t You Dare! | ★★★ | November 2018

Unbelonger | ★★★½ | November 2018

L’Incoronazione Di Poppea | ★★★★ | January 2019

Mob Wife: A Mafia Comedy | ★★★ | January 2019

Cheating Death | ★★ | February 2019

Bed Peace: The Battle Of Yohn & Joko | ★★★ | April 2019

Lysistrata | ★★ | June 2019

Much Ado About Not(h)ing | ★★★ | June 2019

Alpha Who? | ★★★ | August 2019

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

Alpha Who?

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed – 7th August 2019

★★★

“a production to enjoy for the spectacle – and not, perhaps, for interrogating the themes too much”

Male suicide rates may be falling, but three of every four people losing their life to suicide in the UK are men. Toxic masculinity is on the rise and better understood, and gender roles are being interrogated more than perhaps ever before. Time, then, for a scrutiny of ‘the masculine’, and this is what creator and performer Matt Franco sets out to do, with remarkable physical vigour, in Alpha Who?

In Franco there’s definitely a sense that the audience are seeing something special. The physicality of this hour-long, one-man theatre and dance piece is astonishing, and it’s no surprise that Franco is drenched in sweat by the time the show ends. He displays a real muscular exertion as he contorts and hurls his frame around in display of the tensions between emotional expression and traditional interpretations of masculinity.

This, though, is perhaps where the production falters. This central premise – that if emotions and vulnerability remain unexpressed, men suffer – is not a new one, after all. There are some striking expressions of the physical impacts of repression, including some uncomfortable but effective on-stage urination, but by the end it feels as though we’ve seen at least one too many scenes of torrid contortions as feelings are variously contained or expelled.

Given, then, that this central tenet of the hazards of male emotional illiteracy is well recognised, there are missed chances here for wider exploration through Franco’s remarkable skill in movement. Frustratingly, even in seeking to explore these themes, some of the existing hoary stereotypes are in fact further cemented; the programme says that ‘if we’re to heal wounds that men hold within themselves, we must first explore how to engage the feminine within’ which surely only serves to sustain the binary ‘emotions = feminine’ that the piece is seeking to disrupt.

Similarly, is it helpful that the on-stage screens that serve effectively as artworks, maps, shields and cages here are pointedly pink and splashed with shapes calling to mind female genitalia? The closing scene is full of the promise of redemption, as our everyman moves towards a fuller range of emotional expression – but in the staging, as pinkish light shines through a screen and silhouettes a foetal Franco, are we being told that to thrive, the ‘masculine’ must simply become feminine? A healthier ‘man’ might perhaps be one for whom emotional health has been defined on its own terms, without needing to continue with the binary of male vs female (and on that note, given that the complexity of gender and its expression is becoming more fully recognised, it feels neglectful that the over-simplicity of ‘male vs female’ isn’t acknowledged).

Missed opportunities feel especially frustrating here given the calibre on display. The quality displayed in lighting design is perhaps explained by the notably large four-strong team of Naia Burucoa, Gail Sixsmith, Saverio Tonoli and Franco himself, and the music, by Sabio Janiak, is excellent. Alpha Who? is a production to enjoy for the spectacle – and not, perhaps, for interrogating the themes too much, at risk of being disappointed.

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed – 11th August 2019

★★

“whilst the Cognatus Theatre troupe clearly have good intentions, ‘The Ideal Woman’ brings nothing new to the conversation”

But as much as I’m obviously a supporter of the ‘time’s up’/’me too’ campaigns, it won’t do to just state one’s belief in the women’s movement a bunch of times and call it content.

Unfortunately, whilst the Cognatus Theatre troupe clearly have good intentions, ‘The Ideal Woman’ brings nothing new to the conversation. It is only forty minutes, however, so there’s not much lost in dropping by and having a look for yourself.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Vinna Law

The Ideal Woman

Cockpit Theatre until 14th August as part of Camden Fringe 2019

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed – 7th August 2019

★★★

“a production to enjoy for the spectacle – and not, perhaps, for interrogating the themes too much”

Reviewed by Abi Davies

Photography by Saverio Tonoli

Alpha Who?

Cockpit Theatre until 9th August as part of Camden Fringe 2019

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: