Written by
Matt Cameron
Chameleon Theatre
Beckett Theatre until
Dec 14, 1997
Reviewed by Kate
Herbert around Nov 30, 1996
A Hermitage a' Trois
is one description of the characters in Mr. Melancholy by Matt Cameron and
Chameleon Theatre. To be more precise, “three's company, four's a crowd"
in this absurd comedy about love, loss and isolation.
It is essentially a long, very funny comedy sketch with a
poignant ending. Three hermits suffering from varying degrees of sociability,
live together in a lighthouse sans light. They all seem to have fallen out of
society, or a passing ship, purposely or not we do not know. They struggle with
their existential dilemma. Their routine is settled.
Ollie, (Wayne Hope) the light-housekeeper, no longer bothers
to watch for ships. He collects flotsam luggage and steals a beachful of sand.
Meanwhile the maudlin, hapless bride, Margot, (Maud Davey) steals it all back
after burying another cold fish which has died in her care.
Silly, naive,
blathering Enzo, (Ernie Grey) the caretaker, bemoans his mute ventriloquist
doll and studies meaning in the
dictionary. Shades of Samuel Beckett without the bleak existentialism.
The routine is settled; until Dolores, (Suzie Doherty) a
clown escapee from the circus, arrives in a trunk and we all know that new
blood unsettles the old. Everyone wants change and fears it except Dolores who
will risk everything, transform herself for love.
Mr. Melancholy is entertainingly crammed with terrific
groan-wrenching puns and gags but the first half feels unsatisfyingly
insubstantial. The dialogue becomes glib and any flow or depth in characters or
relationship is constantly undercut by one-liners. After interval the drama
checks in, the emotional stakes are raised and the text comes closer to the
examination of the human condition promised in the first half.
Performances are uniformly strong. Hope 's impeccable comic
timing and Grey's quirky clown are excellent while Davey's acerbic gloom is an
appropriate foil to Doherty's child-like peppiness. Anna Tregloan's design of
enormous rickety piles of lost luggage and an encompassing ring of
rocks/sandbags provides accentuates the isolation and containment for the
characters. The evocative, dislocated circus calliope music, composed by Johna
Doty and is effective while remaining unobtrusive.
Melancholy is the natural state. People stay too long in
unhealthy relationships. Whichever way you slice it, all human activity is an
exercise in futility.
KATE HERBERT
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