Tag Archives: Malcolm Rippeth

Sputnik Sweetheart

Sputnik Sweetheart

★★★

Arcola Theatre

SPUTNIK SWEETHEART at the Arcola Theatre

★★★

Sputnik Sweetheart

“Melly Still’s direction is artful, feeling at times more like dance”

Sputnik Sweetheart is a mournful and thoughtful production which explores philosophical questions of identity, desire and purpose.

In Tokyo in 1999 Sumire (Millicent Wong), a young precocious writer, rings her best friend, K (Naruto Komatsu), from a phone box every night, she doesn’t sleep. Their friendship, coloured by his desire for her, sees them questioning the meaning and purpose of their lives. When Sumire falls for an older woman, she moulds herself into a completely new person, and the play questions how far she will go to pursue this newfound love. Told through K’s eyes the production plays with narrative voice, and the way his emotions cloud his perceptions.

There are real gems in Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s novel. Melly Still’s direction is artful, feeling at times more like dance. The stage is surrounded by three screens, onto which line drawing animation is projected, like a graphic novel, beautifully designed by video designer Sonoko Obuchi. This use of multimedia works well, often serving to lighten the more serious live performance. A motif of a cucumber representing an erection flashes up repeatedly, eliciting a solid and regular laugh from the audience. The merging of the forms is one of the most effective parts of this production, it feels fresh and bold, and creates layers within the performance, which allow the surrealism of the plot to flourish.

“This is an ambitious play, and parts do shine”

Lavery’s writing is stylised and lyrical. It is very beautiful, but feels more like the prose it is adapted from. The dialogue is stilted and never quite comes to life. However, part of this may be in the performance, as Natsumi Kuroda, who plays Sumire’s love interest Miu, shines as she brings the words to life. Kuroda is hilarious, and at times a little sinister, Miu’s imposing vision of how Sumire’s life should look feels deeply controlling. However, the most powerful moment in the piece is her monologue, performed from atop a revolving cube, and this is where Kuroda’s talent truly takes flight. The play is watched over by the mostly silent figure of Yuyu Rau, who sits sketching as the plot takes place. While this does play with narrative voices, and the concept of the viewer, it does not quite work.

Shizuka Hariu’s design is minimalist, but evocative. A cube, with one wall as a two-way mirror, acts as phone box, Ferris wheel, and portal into another realm. Phone cords wrap around the characters as their romantic entanglements complicate. Malcolm Rippeth’s lighting design also assists in the boundary-less nature of this production.

This is an ambitious play, and parts do shine, but there is a confused strain to it, which prevents it from ever really taking off. It also veers quite suddenly into the surreal, changing the rules, in a way which is part whimsically charming and part convoluted.

 

SPUTNIK SWEETHEART at the Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 30th October 2023

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Alex Brenner

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Gentlemen | ★★★★ | October 2023
The Brief Life & Mysterious Death Of Boris III, King Of Bulgaria | ★★★★★ | September 2023
The Wetsuitman | ★★★ | August 2023
Union | ★★★ | July 2023
Duck | ★★★★ | June 2023
Possession | ★★★★★ | June 2023
Under The Black Rock | ★★★ | March 2023
The Mistake | ★★★★ | January 2023

Sputnik Sweetheart

Sputnik Sweetheart

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The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

★★★★

Online

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

Bristol Old Vic via bristololdvic.org.uk

Reviewed – 4th December 2020

★★★★

 

“as vibrant as Chagall’s paintings but made more enchanting by the truly endearing performances”

 

Although Marc Chagall is often referred to as the ‘quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century’, Chagall preferred to see himself as representing “not the dream of one people but of all humanity”. A bold claim from one who was raised and immersed in his Jewish culture, but one that is justified. His work transcended the canvas and the artistic movements he helped shape, as he became involved in theatre, set and costume design; even painting the ceiling of the ‘Opéra Garnier’ in Paris. But he is best known for his varied repertoire of images that include melancholy clowns, flying lovers, fiddlers on roofs, circus performers and musicians. They are flights of fancy, which is why a dramatic celebration and portrayal of his life is such an attractive challenge for Emma Rice.

When it opened at the Bristol Old Vic in 2016, “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” was Rice’s swansong for ‘Kneehigh’, although her love affair with the show goes back much further. And it is to the Old Vic that it returns, in association with both Kneehigh and ‘Wise Children’. A two-hander, although frequently supplemented by the musicians, it is as vibrant as Chagall’s paintings but made more enchanting by the truly endearing performances from Marc Antolin (as Chagall) and Audrey Brisson as his muse and wife, Bella. Antolin and Brisson together capture both the ecstasy and the cracks in their life together. They are not just flying lovers but fleeing lovers too – escaping the anti-Semitism that swept through Europe. Yet it avoids the panoramic perspective and focuses more on the intricate brush strokes of the lovers’ lives, and the personal sacrifices they make for each other.

The piece is a wonderful amalgam of dialogue, reflection, music and movement; and they all work beautifully together. Daniel Jamieson’s script is peppered with intimate detail that can reveal a lifetime of emotions within a few short words, accentuated by Rice’s inventive staging. Ian Ross’s heart-rending score is a constant undercurrent that bursts to the surface with its leitmotifs; seamlessly taking over when words alone are not enough. Yet it is the central performances of the two actors, and their onstage chemistry, that draw us in. Like Pierrot and Columbine their physicality becomes an extra language, to say nothing of their gorgeous singing voices.

This is a rare gem of a piece of theatre. Seldom does humour and magic sit so comfortably alongside poignancy and heartache. Chagall’s success in Berlin and Paris is shadowed by wartime persecution of the Jews: their culture is celebrated here, but we are also reminded of the fact that we are witnessing a culture that was ravaged. But above all, we are sharing a love story and this show is a celebration of that, as well as the artist. More than uplifting; you can see why these lovers are flying.

 

 

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Steve Tanner

 

Bristol Old Vic

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

Live broadcasts from Bristol Old Vic until 5th December then streaming from 11th – 18th December via bristololdvic.org.uk

 

Recently reviewed by Jonathan:
The Great Gatsby | ★★★★★ | Immersive LDN | October 2020
The Last Five Years | ★★★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | October 2020
The Off Key | ★★★ | White Bear Theatre | October 2020
What a Carve Up! | ★★★★★ | Online | October 2020
Little Wars | ★★★★ | Online | October 2020
Right Left With Heels | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Marry me a Little | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Rent | ★★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Falling Stars | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Ute Lemper: Rendezvous With Marlene | ★★★★★ | Online | November 2020

 

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